


Another Black Tie Affair

by afallenblackrose



Series: The Black Tie Affair Saga [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-27
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-09 19:04:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5551718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afallenblackrose/pseuds/afallenblackrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Serena and Darien have been married for six months, but big changes are headed their way. Darien has to go back to America to take care of the business and he wants Serena to come with him! Serena is worried that he’ll go back to his old playboy ways and she’ll be left as the stereotypical housewife. Plus there might be a special something on the way that could tear their relationship apart. Will the lovebirds stay together? Read to find out!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: Another Move

Darien Shields sluggishly walked into his apartment at two-thirty in the morning. He groaned when he saw the time on the clock. Serena was going to be so pissed that he hadn’t come home when he said he would, which was supposed to be six hours ago. The nice thing was, he couldn’t help but think as he slumped onto the couch, he didn’t have to go back for two days. Most would have thought him nuts to begin with for going to work the day before New Year’s Eve. But he couldn’t help himself; he was the CEO of Shields Corporation. He had to go in.

He snapped open his eyes, knowing that if he wasn’t careful, Serena was going to find him sleeping on the couch when she woke up in a few hours. Very slowly, he got off his comfortable couch and drudged into the master bedroom. Passing the mantel to the fireplace on the way. Over the last six months, whenever he passed that mantel, he couldn’t help but smile. Sitting on the mantel was a picture of Serena and him shoving cake into each other’s mouths at the wedding reception.

**_*Flashback*_ **

_All of their guests were cheering when they walked into the banquet room of the Tokyo Hotel. Darien was tightly clutching Serena’s right left hand in his, afraid that if he let go it would all turn out to be some sort of wonderful dream. He couldn’t help but grin at the blonde nymph beside him. It had barely been a half an hour since they had agreed to their vows, but it still didn’t sit with Darien that this was all happening. One of his many fantasies while he was in the States had finally come true._

_Serena was his. He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the mouth, much to the crowd’s enjoyment. They awed and some even wolf whistled._

_“Alright, alright, let the newly weds through! It’s time for them to have their first dance as a wedded couple!” A voice came over the microphone system. The crowd parted and let the two of them through to the dance floor. Serena looked up in shock when she saw who was standing on stage, his band behind him. He winked at her and smiled his usual smile at her._

_“I can’t believe he actually came,” Serena whispered. “I didn’t think he would. We left things on such bad terms.”_

_“Not really,” Darien replied as he took her in his arms. “I went to go talk to him a few weeks ago, when we were looking for a band? He wasn’t too happy to see me, at first, but he was only trying to give me a hard time. Apparently, you breaking up with him was the best thing to happen to him. He realized that he needed to be more than just a part-time father to Emily.”_

_“What?”_

_“Trista and him are trying to work things out,” Darien answered. “That’s why when I asked him if he would play our wedding, he jumped on it. He wanted to show to you that he is really happy for the both of us, and doesn’t hold any grudges.”_

_“I’m really glad to hear that,” Serena replied, a radiant smile on her face._

_“Okay, okay, settle down,” Seiya began speaking again. “Now, we all know why we’re here. Darien and Serena have finally,_ finally _, gotten married and we’re all here to offer our congratulations. Even me, who technically, was supposed to be married to Serena today, but I’m glad that we aren’t Serena. You and Darien are absolutely perfect for each other, and I wish you all the best. Congratulations!” Their guest clapped loudly at these words. “I now present, the first dance of Mr. and Mrs. Darien Shields.”_

Maybe it’s intuition, but some things you just don’t question

Like in your eyes, I see my future in an instant

And there it goes I think I found my best friend

I know it might sound like more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

There’s just no rhyme or reason

Only the sense of completion

And in your eyes, I see the missing pieces

I’m searching for, I think I found my way home

I know that it might sound more than a little crazy

But I believe

I knew I loved you before I met you

I think I dreamed you into life

I knew I loved you before I met you

I have been waiting all my life

_Darien whispered the next few lines into Serena’s ear, making her blush fiercely._

A thousand angels dance around you

I am complete now that I found you

_When the song ended, the crowd clapped again, and also began clinking their glasses. Darien leaned in and kissed her again, and when he pulled away he was surprised to see tears in his beautiful bride’s eyes._

_“Serena, what’s wrong?” He asked. “Today is a happy day, no room for tears, love.”_

_“These aren’t tears of sadness, Darien,” she replied smiling. “They’re tears of happiness. A bride is allowed to cry tears of happiness, I would think.”_

_He smiled at her, “Yes, I believe you’re right. I love you, Mrs. Shields.”_

_“I love you, Mr. Shields,” she giggled. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get used to that._

_“Well, you have lots of time to,” he grinned mischievously at her. “Now, come on, let’s cut our wonderful cake, and shove it into each other’s faces.” He held out his hand, and she very graciously put her hand in his. The crowd followed them, with cameras in hand. By the time the cake had been shoved, both Serena and Darien were seeing spots._

_***_

_Darien lifted the last box and placed it on his shoulder._

_“Are you sure this is the last of it?” He asked Serena, who was standing in what used to be her living room of her apartment. They had decided on their wedding day that Serena would move into Darien’s apartment, since his was bigger and had a better view of the city of Tokyo. Today was moving day, and Darien couldn’t believe how much stuff she had, considering it was only her in this tiny place._

_“Yeah,” she replied. “But be careful! That stuff is really fragile. I don’t want you to break anything, it’s important to me.” She pointed at the box, and the bold red letters on the box._

_“But what if_ I _break something? Wouldn’t you be more concerned about me?” He asked a grin on his lips as she closed the door._

_“Not really,” she answered a teasing hint in her voice. “You’re replaceable, those aren’t.”_

_“What’s in here anyway? It weighs a ton, if it’s just crystal or something.”_

_“It’s not crystal. It’s just…um….”_

_“Serena?” He asked concerned. Why was she blushing? What was in this box?_

_“It’s just some_ stuff _I collected when I was a teenager. It’s really, um, important to me…” she looked away from his prying gaze, and led the way downstairs. Darien didn’t follow her though; he stopped in his tracks, lowered the box to the floor and began to open it. Curiosity was getting the better of him. Serena, realizing that he wasn’t following her, turned and almost freaked when she saw what he was doing._

_“No! Darien, don’t open…” he lifted the final flap and began rummaging around. “It,” she sighed. This was going to be so embarrassing to explain what she was doing with…._

_“Are these,” he lifted one out of the box. “Cosplay costumes?” He stared at her with the outfit in his hand, and an eyebrow raised in question. He didn’t know that Serena was into that kind of stuff._

_“Um, yeah,” she replied snatching it out of his grasp and putting it back into the box with care. “When I was in high school, I was really into anime and manga, and when the Comic-Con’s came to town, I dressed up and went.” Her usual smile was set into a frown, Darien couldn’t help but notice, was she embarrassed? He grinned at her._

_“Serena, don’t be so embarrassed, it’s okay to have an interest,” he placed his hand on hers. “Besides…” his grin turned mischievous. “We can put these costumes to use…when we get home…” he trailed off suggestively._

_Serena’s blush deepened, which caused Darien to let out a laugh. Living with his bride was going to be quite interesting._

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

Darien walked into the bedroom after his mental reverie, only to be shocked. Sitting up in their bed, with the blankets wound around her and her golden hair, which had grown back to it’s usual length in the last six months, cascading around her shoulders was Serena. Her blue eyes watched him walk in, there was no expression on her face. She didn’t look mad, but she didn’t look too happy either.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d still be up,” he said as he walked towards the bed.

“I was waiting for you,” she looked at the clock. “Two-thirty, really, Darien? You said you were going to be home by seven.”

“I know, but things got complicated,” he said sitting down on the bed.

“Complicated?” She asked. “Darien, you’re the boss, you should be able to leave when you want to.”

“Well…” he sighed. He had wanted to wait until tomorrow to tell her about what had happened today. “Look, Serena, I know you just moved in, but…”

Her eyes widened in panic. What was he trying to say to her? Did he not want her here anymore? But that would be ridiculous! She had just moved in, they were husband and wife now!

“But, what?”

“Oh! Nothing like that, Serena,” he exclaimed moving closer to her. “It’s just that, remember how I took over the company from my father when he passed away and the company was based out in Los Angeles?”

“Yes, you left, and didn’t tell me,” she replied.

“Right, well, I have to go back to Los Angeles,” he said.

“What? Why?”

“Because, there’s this client that I’m looking at, and he’s still based out in LA,” he replied.

“How long would you be gone?”

“That’s the thing,” he replied. “I want you to come with me this time.”

“Really?” She asked her eyes widening. She had never been to the States before. Let alone LA! She had always wanted to go, but her job never gave her the time.

“Yes, really,” he replied. “The only thing is, we’d be moving out there for good. We might not come back to Tokyo for awhile.”

“But what if Andrew and Mina get married?” Serena asked. “Would we be able to come back for that?”

“Yes, of course,” he said smiling. “But who knows when he’ll finally get the courage to ask that blonde!”

Serena smiled back at him. “Don’t worry, I have a feeling he will.”

Darien reached for her hand. “Are you sure you want to come with me? It means you’ll have to leave everything behind. Your friends, your family, and your job.”

“Darien, we’re married now,” she replied. “Where you go I go, end of discussion. Besides, I always wanted to see LA,” she winked even though she was a tad bit concerned. Darien had been such a playboy back in the States, would those habits return, even though he was married to her? Serena chuckled to herself, of course they wouldn’t. He had only acted that way because he was really harboring secret feelings for her that he didn’t think were reciprocated. He would stay truthful.

Besides she had a friend in LA who could always keep an eye on him for her, if it came to that.

 


	2. Part Two: New Year, New City

Later that morning, Serena tried to crawl out of bed without waking her sleeping husband. They hadn’t gotten to sleep until four in the morning as they talked about the details for the move. They would move into Darien’s apartment in the city a week after New Years. Once they got there, Darien would introduce Serena around to his colleagues at the company’s annual New Year ball. There, he would introduce her also to the major client that he was trying to lure. It was a lot of responsibility, but Serena knew that Darien would be able to sign this new client. Serena sighed, and stretched her limbs when an arm snaked along her waist and pulled her back into the bed.

Serena turned and stared into Darien’s azure blue eyes. He did the same routine every morning, he would always try to get her to stay in bed and it would always take a lot of her self-control to not give into his many _charms_.

“Where are you off to so early, love?” He asked nuzzling her neck. Serena groaned it was going to be one of those mornings.

“I’m meeting up with the girls for breakfast,” she replied. “We have to talk about the party tonight, and I have to tell them about my news.”

“Do you have to go? Can’t you talk to them at the party tonight?”

Serena grinned at his tone. He sounded like such a child. “Unfortunately, I have to go, besides don’t you have to talk with Andrew and the others?”

“Yes, but that isn’t until the afternoon,” he replied drawing her closer. “Leaving me plenty of time to keep my beautiful wife hostage in our bed.” He kept nuzzling her neck. Serena bit her lip to not let out a moan of satisfaction. She really needed to go, if she wanted to meet the girls on time.

“Darien,” she sternly said.

Darien looked up at her with a wicked grin on his lips, “Yes?”

“I’m going to be late,” she replied. “Let me go…” a moan escaped her lips as he continued his explorations.

“Your mouth is saying no, but your body is saying yes,” he whispered the grin still on his lips. “So, which is it, love?” His mouth began to kiss her skin, erupting it in flames from where they touched.

“Screw it,” she whispered and let Darien’s lips claim hers in a passionate kiss.

* * *

 

“You’re late, Serena!” Raye exclaimed as she rushed into the arcade her skin flushed from the cold wind that was blowing outside. She had shown up a half an hour late.

“Sorry,” she replied. “I got caught up.” Her mind drifted off to what had just transpired between Darien and her. Things had gotten heated very quickly, and afterwards she didn’t want to leave his side. She would have stayed in bed for the rest of the afternoon if it weren’t for the meeting with her friends. Damn that husband of hers for being so damn sexy!

“Got caught up with what, hm?” Lita asked winking at Serena. “Did Darien hold you against your will?” Serena felt her cheeks heat up with a blush. How was it her friends knew what was going on with her so easily?

“Cut it out, Lita,” Mina came to her defense. “She’s allowed to get caught up with her husband. They’re still newlyweds after all.” She laughed. “I can’t believe you guys have been married for six months.”

“Yeah, I know…oh!” She exclaimed remembering why she had been angry at Darien the night before when he hadn’t come home on time. She had organized a special dinner for the two of them to celebrate their six-month anniversary. She had to throw it all out when he hadn’t come home. That’s why she had sat up and waited for him. She was going to rip him a new one, when he dropped the news of their new move. How quickly she forgot…

“Oh?” Amy asked. “Is something wrong, Serena?”

“No, it’s just that Mina reminded me why I was so angry at Darien last night,” she replied.

“Reminded you?” Mina asked. “Why would you be angry at Darien to begin with? What did he do?”

“Did he hurt you?” Lita asked cracking her knuckles. “’Cause if he did, you just let me know and I’ll take care of him for you.”

“Calm down, Lita,” Raye drawled. “Darien didn’t hurt Serena, he would never hurt her. Besides even if he did, do you really think that she would have been late today?”

“Oh,” Lita’s face dropped. “I guess you’re right, Raye.”

“So what happened?” Raye asked putting a consoling arm around her blonde friend’s shoulders.

“Well, it isn’t anything too drastic,” she replied. “Darien just came home late last night even though he swore to me that he would be home at seven. I cooked up a special dinner for the two of us so we could celebrate our six-month anniversary, but he didn’t come home. He showed up at two-thirty in the morning! It was the day before New Year’s Eve! Who goes to work on the day before New Year’s Eve?” Serena shook her head.

“Well, Darien is in charge of the company,” Amy said. “He has to set an example for his employees, and there might have been some urgent work that he needed to attend to despite the holiday.” She shrugged. “But what made you forget that you were angry at him?”

“I asked him why he had been at work so late, and he told me that things got complicated. When I asked him to clarify he told me that…well, that he’s going back to Los Angeles a week after New Years.”

 _“WHAT?”_ The four girls exclaimed in shock.

“He also asked me to go with him, and I said yes,” she continued on.

 _“WHAT?”_ The girls exclaimed again.

“Serena, how can you go with him to Los Angeles?” Raye asked. “You’ve never been to the States before! You don’t even know English, it’s going to be hard for you…”

“Darien is my husband, Raye, I have to follow him,” she replied. “I don’t want to be away from him. But I do know some English, and anything that I don’t know, Darien will be there to help me.”

“But what about me?” Mina asked. “Andrew is going to propose any day now, how am I going to plan my wedding without my maid of honor? Are you really going to abandon me in my time of need?”

“Of course I won’t, Mina, Darien said that I could always fly back if you ever need me, and besides I can always call you or we can Skype each other. I will not abandon you, just like you didn’t abandon me.” She smiled at Mina who looked a little more assured that Serena would be there if she ever needed her.

“So, Andrew’s going to propose?” Lita asked changing the subject.

“Well,” Mina sighed. “I think so. I mean it’s the only logical conclusion considering that we’ve been dating since last year already and I caught the bouquet at Serena’s wedding. It’s only…I’m not even sure if he has gotten a ring for me yet. Whenever I drop hints about what kind of ring I want, he kind of blushes and changes the subject.”

“Oh, Mina, I’m sure that Andrew is planning on asking you soon. He’s just got it all planned out and wants to surprise you!”

“Do you really think that’s what he’s doing?” Mina asked her eyes looking hopeful.

“Yes, I do!” Serena exclaimed. “Andrew seems to be that kind of guy. Besides, Mina, he absolutely adores you. Why wouldn’t he want to bind you to him for the rest of your lives?”

“Thanks, Serena,” she replied wiping at her face. “So, what is everybody wearing to the party tonight?”

* * *

 

Serena was staring at herself in the mirror, later on that night. The deep purple dress she was wearing showed off all the curves that she had, and went down to her knees. It wasn’t the smartest choice, considering that it was below freezing outside and there was going to be snow, but it looked amazing on her. She stared at her hair and fingered its length. Over the past six months, Darien had requested that she let it grow out. He liked her better with the long hair that she had had when they first met. But what Darien didn’t understand, was that it was easier to manage when it was shorter. Now, it was weighing her head down considerably, and it was a pain in the ass to brush by herself. She growled in frustration as she tried to figure out what to do with the monstrosity for the evening.

“Up?” She said out loud and pulled her hair into a high ponytail. “Or down?” She let the hair drop from her grasp. It fell, and it instantly covered her breasts. This was getting ridiculous, before Darien and her left for Los Angeles, she was going to get it cut. There was no way that the girls in LA wore their hair this long. Well, at least naturally.

“Serena?” Darien asked as he knocked on the bathroom door. “Are you okay in there?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied before taking one last look at herself. Her hair was going to have to stay down. Besides, it was going to be the last time her hair was going to be this long for a while. She was going to make sure of that.

“Well, if you’re ready,” he continued. “We better get going. We don’t want to be late.” Serena sighed and opened up the bathroom door, revealing her outfit to him. He looked her up and down, smiling as he walked closer to her. “Or we could not go at all and hold our own New Year’s celebration here at home.”

Serena laughed, “Would you stop it, Darien? You’re almost as horny as a teenaged boy going through puberty. Keep it in your pants, love.”

Kissing her knuckles, Darien looked up and grinned at her, “It’s very hard to when I am married to such a beauty. But if you insist on going, we’ll save this for later.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek inhaling her perfume. “Definitely later.”

* * *

 

It was a minute before midnight, Darien and Serena were standing around with their friends in the arcade. They were watching the ball dropping ceremony on TV. Serena couldn’t help but glance at Andrew continuously. He looked nervous and he was drinking _a lot_ of champagne.

“What’s going on with Andrew?” She whispered into Darien’s ear.

He glanced over to his friend, knowing what was going on, and feeling for the guy. It was a nerve wracking thing that he was going through, and Darien would know since he had gone through it once before. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “He doesn’t look too good. Is he sick?”           

“No, I’m sure he’s fine.” Serena glanced at Darien. What was he not telling her? But her question was soon answered when Andrew walked over to Mina who had been talking with Lita and Amy.

“Mina, can I talk to you for a second?” Mina looked at him and instantly felt worried. He didn’t look too good, and she was scared about what he could possibly want to talk to her about.

“Um, okay,” she replied and let him pull her away from the two girls. Serena watched all of this with interest, and she wasn’t the only one. Everyone in the arcade had turned to Andrew and Mina. What could he possibly want to talk to her about before midnight?

“Mina, we’ve been dating for a good year,” Andrew began. “We’ve had some really great times together, and you know I love you, a whole hell of a lot. So, I thought that, well…” he grinned nervously as he went down on one knee and fetched into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a little velvet box and opened it. Offering it to Mina, he continued, “Mina, with only ten seconds before midnight and ten seconds for you to give me an answer, will you marry me?”

“Oh, Andrew-”

“Nine,” the group around them began the countdown.

“I can’t believe you-”

“Eight.”

“I didn’t think you’d ever ask-”

“Seven.”

“And I can’t believe-”

“That you ask before all our friends-”

“Six.”

“I love you-”

“Five.”

“And it would-”

“Four.”

“Give me great pleasure-”

“Three.”

“To be your wife-”

“Two.”

“So, I guess my answer is-”

“One.”

“Yes.”

 _“Happy New Year!”_ Everyone exclaimed as Andrew slipped the ring onto Mina’s finger and kissed her deeply. Serena turned to Darien and felt his lips on hers. When they broke away, she smiled at him.

“I guess I’ll be coming back sooner than I thought.”

“It looks that way,” Darien agreed.

“You knew that he was going to propose tonight, didn’t you?”

“Maybe,” a light glinted in his eyes. He grinned at her.

“I love you, Darien Shields,” she whispered.

“I love you, Serena Shields,” he replied before kissing her again.

* * *

 

A week later…

* * *

 

The plane ride had been insanely long, and once they landed Serena couldn’t wait to get off the plane and stretch her aching limbs. They were stiff from sitting for so long. Once that was out of the way, she felt a little pool of giddiness enter her system. She was here. She was in Los Angeles.

She stepped off the plane, and waited for Darien to catch up, he had been right behind her. He smiled at her as he put on his sunglasses, and handed her a pair.

“Welcome to Los Angeles.”


	3. Part Three: Meeting Mix Ups

Serena looked around the spatial penthouse apartment with a million dollar view of downtown Los Angles. She was pretty sure her jaw had hit the floor as soon as Darien opened the door, maybe even a little bit before that when he had hit the penthouse button on the elevator. But why was she so surprised? Back in Tokyo he had also owned the penthouse apartment. He was a multi-millionaire after all. He wanted the best, and he would always get it.

“Excuse me, miss,” a mover grunted from behind her. Serena turned around and blushed fiercely. She had frozen in the middle of the doorway, and she was now blocking the way for the movers to bring in their things. She stepped aside and watched as the movers brought in the multitude of boxes that they had packed up. She wandered further into the apartment, and somehow felt herself drawn to one of the many windows. The apartment faced the west, and she could only imagine how gorgeous the sunsets were going to be. A small part of her hoped that Darien and her would be able to watch them together. Speaking of, she turned around to find her husband, but was saddened to find him in the opposite corner, his phone glued to his ear. Ever since their plane had landed he had been on that phone non-stop.

It was driving her crazy, but she also knew that the only reason they were in Los Angeles was because of his business. He had another CEO of another multi-million dollar company to lure to his company. She sighed already seeing how it was going to be between the two of them while they were here. Maybe it was time to call up her friend, she hadn’t seen her since they had gone their separate ways after high school. It would be good to see her again.

Darien on the other hand, was getting very frustrated. His old secretary had decided to go on vacation on the exact day that he had come back and he was now dealing with an ignorant temp. His colleague, Mark, had called as soon as they landed to ask why he hadn’t shown up at the meeting that was taking place, which had surprised meeting. He hadn’t been informed of a meeting that would take place as soon as he landed. Just like the participants of the meeting, including the CEO he was trying to lure, hadn’t been informed that he would be landing in LA as the meeting began. There had been a major screw up, and it was all thanks to the temp that his old secretary had hired in her place.

This was _not_ how he wanted things to begin with the big CEO. He was now talking into the phone in a stern voice, the girl on the other line seemed shaken. She hadn’t expected to be on the receiving line of the angry side of Darien Shields. She had heard about him, of course, but it was more of the playboy side that she heard of, not this angry businessman.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Shields, it must have been…”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses,” he cut her off harshly. “Look, I’m coming in, and if you slip up one more time, I will black list you.” He hung up in a huff, not hearing the sobs of the scared girl on the other line. He placed his fingers on his temples, he had a headache and he had barely been back an hour.

“Something wrong?” A soft voice asked as soothing hands began massaging his back. He brought away his hands, and looked around him. His beautiful wife, who looked even more angel like in the light of the Los Angeles sun, was standing beside him, a look of concern on her face.

“Have I told you recently how much I love you?” He murmured as he brought her close to him.

“When we first got here,” she replied. “But you didn’t answer my question, Darien. Is something wrong?”

“I have to go in,” he said with a tone of regret. He had wanted to stay in with Serena on their first night here. Order some amazing Chinese food that he knew she would have loved, and put that bed of his to good use. But no he had to go into the office.

She chuckled, “I kind of figured that you would. We’re not here for a vacation but for your work.”

“Are you sure?” He asked surprised by her attitude.

“Yes, now, go, Darien,” she replied. “I have someone I need to call up anyway. Don’t worry about me, I have to make sure that this place gets put into order, so I’ll have plenty to keep me busy.” A tickle began in her nose.

“You’re amazing, Sere, you know?” He replied kissing her on the cheek before he dashed out of the apartment. But before he disappeared he tossed her something, which she caught with ease. She looked into her palm and saw two keys. One she assumed was the key to the apartment, but the other almost looked like a key to a car.

“Just in case you want to go somewhere,” he said. “There’s a black Mini Cooper downstairs in the parking garage.” He waved and was out of sight before she could state her thanks. She tossed the keys in her hands and watched as the movers continued to bring in boxes. They had way too much stuff, she couldn’t help but think as she began unpacking.

* * *

 

Darien stepped out of the elevator onto the top floor of his company’s building. He was surprised that the usual rustle and bustle that he had been used to when he was working here almost a year ago, was nonexistent. You could have heard a pin drop it was that quite on the floor. Every one of his staff was sitting in their cubicles, but their eyes were fixated on him. He met each of their gazes sternly and said, “Shouldn’t you guys be working? I know I haven’t been here since last year, but really. I still expect you to be working.” That was all that needed to be said as the rustle began. He smiled confidently; it was good to be back in this office. He strode down the hallway and stopped in front of the desk outside of his office.

A girl with red hair looked up at his approach, the look on her face could be described best as almost fearful. She stood shakily, and offered out a hand.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Shields,” she said her voice wavering. “I’m Molly Walters, we spoke on the phone earlier?”

“So you’re the one I have to blame for the meeting I missed,” he said ignoring the hand she had offered for him to shake. “How did that happen, by the way, Molly? I thought the meeting wasn’t until tomorrow?”

“That’s what I thought too!” She exclaimed. “But they must have changed it. I checked my e-mail and the voicemails on my phone and on the office phone, but Mr. Dawson’s secretary didn’t send me anything to notify me about the change of time and day.”

Darien quirked an eyebrow and walked over to the fax machine by her desk. There was a piece of paper in the tray. “Did you check the fax machine?” He asked her as she followed him. Once she saw the paper, she went to it and read over it quickly. The color in her face drained.

“N-no, I d-didn’t,” she stuttered. “But who sends faxes anymore? E-mail is so much easier!”

He took the paper from her outstretched hand and read over it quickly, it stated in black and white that the meeting time had changed. He looked up at the girl and said sternly, “Maybe you should research your clients thoroughly because if you had you would have known that Mr. Dawson’s secretary is from the old school and uses faxes to inform people of meeting changes.” He turned and began walking into his office but then he shouted over his shoulder, “Get Luna on the phone, I need to rearrange this meeting.”

“Of course, sir,” Molly stuttered and sat down in her chair. Her hand reached out to the phone and began dialing numbers. Once she was sure that Luna was on the phone she paged Darien’s office. “Mr. Dawson’s secretary on line one.”

“Hello, Luna, how are you?” Darien answered.

“I’m doing very well, Mr. Shields,” Luna replied. “How are you? I hear that you just arrived in Los Angeles and that is why you didn’t attend the meeting this morning?”

“Yes, I’m afraid my usual secretary decided to go on vacation and so I have a temp working for me,” he said. “She doesn’t know how you work with meeting changes, Luna, so she didn’t check the fax machine. If I had known that the meeting had been changed I would have booked an earlier flight.”

Luna laughed, “Very well, would you like to speak with Mr. Dawson?”

“If he’s available.”

“He is, one moment, please,” she said and connected him to the CEO in question.

“Darien Shields! I was very disappointed that you didn’t make the meeting this morning,” the man greeted.

“I am very sorry about that, Mr. Dawson, but as I explained to Luna, my usual secretary took off on vacation and I have a temp who doesn’t exactly know what she is doing. My apologies, I’m hoping we can reschedule?”

“Of course, of course, it wouldn’t be the first time a temp secretary has screwed up. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when my darling Luna decides to retire. But don’t you worry, Darien! Your colleague, Mr. Matthews, showed me some of the presentation that you were working on. I am very interested, so we shall set up another meeting, perhaps for tomorrow evening?”

“That sounds perfect, Mr. Dawson.”

“Please, Darien, call me Sapphire,” he replied. “Very well, Luna will set it up and fax you the details, and I heard through the grapevine, that you are married? I would very much like to meet your new bride.”

“I could bring her with me, if you’d like,” Darien offered.

“That would be wonderful!” He exclaimed. “I shall see the both of you tomorrow evening! Good-bye Darien.”

“Good-bye, Sapphire,” he said and hung up the phone. “Molly!” He called out. “I am expecting a fax from Luna that has the details for tomorrow’s meeting. Once you get it, please call me with the details. I’m going to go and thank Mark for helping me out this morning, and then I’m going home to get settled.” Without another word he walked back down the hallway, leaving Molly speechless and staring after him.

As he walked down the hallway, many people nodded at him and waved in greeting. They also welcomed him back to the building. He smiled at all of them and thought again about how wonderful it was to be back. He stopped in front of another door, and smiled at the secretary sitting in front of it.

“Good afternoon, is Mr. Matthews available?” He asked.

“For you, Mr. Shields, always. Should I let him know that you’re here?” The girl asked smiling at him.

“No, I want to surprise him,” he said and walked towards the door. He knocked and waited for Mr. Matthews to say it was okay to come in.

“Come in!” He exclaimed. Darien opened the door and strode into the office. Mr. Matthews was hard at work, pouring over some paperwork. “Better make it quick, Anna, I’m really busy.”

“Too busy for your boss, Mark?” Darien asked. His pen stopped in its tracks and he looked up. A look of surprise crossed his face before he scrambled from his chair and came to greet him.

“Darien, my friend!” He exclaimed as they shared a “manly” hug. “I knew you were back, but I didn’t think you’d be coming into the office today! What are you doing here anyway?”

“I had to figure out what went wrong and reschedule the meeting,” Darien replied. “Even though I heard that the only reason I have another chance, is because you told Sapphire about what we have planned. Thanks for that.”

“No problem, that’s what I’m here for,” he said. “So, how is it being back?”

“Strange, but I like it. I forgot how much I like it here at this office. The Tokyo office was just too stuffy for my liking.”

“Then why did you stay away for so long?” Mark asked. “You didn’t tell me why you left to begin with.”

“I didn’t?” Mark shook his head. “Well, I, um, kind of got married while I was away.”

“ _WHAT?_ ”

“Yeah, look, it’s a long story, one that I’ll explain later, but I got married.”

“Did you bring her with you?”

“She’s back at the apartment, unpacking,” he said. “Speaking of, I probably should go help her. I just came to thank you, and to say hello. So, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, we should grab a beer or something soon,” Mark replied.

“Definitely, then I can tell you that long story,” he smiled and nodded his head in good-bye. It was time to go home, to his wife.


	4. Part Four: Homesickness?

While Darien was at the office trying to figure out what had happened that morning, Serena was sitting on the living room floor unpacking the multitude of boxes that they had brought over with them. After a few hard moments, she had figured out how to work Darien’s expansive stereo system and a low melody was now playing in the background. The box in front of Serena at the present was one of Darien’s many boxes of books. Even before he had left she knew he was an avid reader, but what was disturbing for her was that the box contained, mostly, the works of Stephen King. How could Darien read those books? She had heard of Stephen King, she saw _Carrie_ , and hadn’t been able to sleep for two whole months afterwards. She hadn’t figured Darien to be into the horror genre. She had thought he would be more into the sci-fi or even books that dealt with war or something.

She was examining a rather thick volume when she heard a knock on the door. Placing the book onto one of the many stacks around her, she got up and went to see who was at the door. She was still shaking her head, when she opened the door.

“I had heard that Serena Carter had gone stateside,” a voice said. “But I didn’t believe it for a moment. What are you doing here, Serena?” Serena simply just stared, her mouth open at the girl who was standing in her doorway. It was the friend she had thought about calling earlier. Wait, girl wasn’t the right term, the small petite girl that she had known in high school was no longer so short. The woman with raven black hair cut to her shoulders was now a few inches taller than Serena.

“Haven’t you heard, Hotaru? It’s Serena Shields now,” she smiled and pulled the young woman into a hug. “How have you been, my friend? It’s been what three, four years since I last saw you?”

“I think so, my dear friend,” she smiled. “But, may I come in?”

“Oh, of course!” Serena exclaimed a tad bit embarrassed that she hadn’t invited her friend in before. “I’m so sorry, I was just so stunned to see you. Please excuse the mess, I’m afraid we just arrived today and I’m still trying to get everything in order.” She stepped aside from the door and let Hotaru walk through, closing the door behind them. She watched as her friend took in the sight before her, and wasn’t surprised when she was instantly drawn to the windows.

“What a lovely view,” her friend softly said. “This husband of yours must be pretty rich to afford this wonderful apartment,” she turned back to Serena. “You never told me his name?”

“His name is Darien,” Serena replied. “And he is rich, in fact, he owns Shields Corporation. That’s why we moved here, apparently one of the clients he’s looking into is based out here, and so to woo him he came in person.”

“Darien Shields…” Hotaru mused. “That name sounds so familiar. Weren’t the two of you friends or something when we graduated high school?” She sat down on the carpeted floor next to an unopened box.

“Yeah, I thought I told you about him?” Serena asked. “We bumped into each other, one day, like a month before graduation and well, I instantly got a crush on him.” Her eyes went off into dreamland as she remembered that day like she had the year before when Seiya had asked her to marry him. Hotaru was inquisitive and Serena went into the whole story from start to finish about how Darien and her had finally ended up getting hitched. While she was speaking, they had continued unpacking, even though Serena had insisted that Hotaru shouldn’t do anything since she was a guest in her new home. But she had just waved Serena off.

“I might as well help you,” she said.

“Well, if you’re sure,” Serena replied hesitant. “So what about you, Hotaru? What have you been up to since graduation?”

“Well, after graduation I stuck around Tokyo for the summer, and in the fall I came out here to attend UCLA. I graduated in four years with a degree in communications and I’m now the head anchor at a TV station.”

“Wow, that’s pretty exciting. But what about your love life? I know you were pretty serious about that one boy back when we were in high school. What was his name? Paul or Patrick?”

“Patrick, and that, uh, didn’t work out,” Hotaru looked away. “But I’ve been seeing someone new, and I think things are getting quite serious, even though he still has to introduce me to his family.”

“Ooh! What’s his name?”

“His name is Alan,” she replied. “He’s pretty sweet, he’s actually my coworker at the station. I’d love for you two to meet one day…”

“I would love to meet him!” Serena exclaimed and stood up quickly. The tickle in her nose had started again. She was thinking it was because of all the dust that they had brought up from the unpacking, but she wasn’t so sure. She looked at the clock that was sitting on the mantle and realized that they had been at this for over two hours! “Oh wow, we’ve been working non-stop, are you thirsty?”

“I am actually,” she said.

“I’m afraid I only have water,” Serena said as she walked into the kitchen. “I have to go shopping soon and stock up everything. I’m sure Darien probably doesn’t want to go out to eat every night.”

“Water is fine!” Hotaru exclaimed and walked over to the mantle. She had been fascinated with a picture that was there, when she first walked in. She hadn’t gotten an opportunity to look at it without Serena being in the room, so now was her chance. She took the picture off and studied it closely. It was one of Serena and her husband Darien shoving cake into each other’s faces. It must have been from their wedding reception. She smiled at how happy they looked together. Serena was one of her closest friends, in fact, Hotaru considered her, her unofficial sister. It made her happy to see Serena so happy. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew Darien from somewhere. She stared even more intently at the picture trying to place him.

_CRASH!_

She looked up startled and dropped the picture frame in her hands, she didn’t notice the glass shattering because she was already rushing into the kitchen to check on Serena. What she saw made her heart freeze in her chest.

Serena was lying unconscious on the hard marble floor, her face tinged crimson, but not from blood. There was glass everywhere, and the floor was also wet. What had happened? Hotaru carefully made her way around the glass to her friend.

“Serena? Serena, can you hear me?” Hotaru asked gently shaking her blonde friend. But the friend wasn’t responsive. Getting out her cell phone from her jeans pocket, she dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

* * *

 

Darien was whistling a high beat tune when he stepped out of the elevator of his apartment building. He was on his way home to his beautiful wife, and he was early. He was about to take her by surprise, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. The journey back to his building had been rather difficult, much to his surprise. The paparazzi were standing feet from his car when he had exited his work. Someone had alerted them to his return, and they would not stop pestering him. He sighed, it didn’t matter any more what they thought. They were looking forward to more entries to his playboy famous ways. Little did they know that he had gotten married while he was away.

Darien opened the door to his apartment and was surprised to see a girl with black hair that went to her shoulders waiting for him.

“So, you’re Darien Shields,” she said walking up to him.

“Yes I am, but who are you? And where’s Serena?” He asked curious.

“My name is Hotaru Taylor, Serena and I knew each other back in high school,” she explained. “When I heard that she was in town, I came to see her and we spent the day together.”

“Okay, it’s nice to meet you Hotaru, but you didn’t answer my question. Where’s Serena?” He was getting nervous now, and it didn’t help that the girl in front of him was now giving him a look of sadness.

“Something happened,” she said her voice now real quiet. “She got up to get some water, and I heard a crash from the kitchen. When I checked to see what had happened, she was on the floor unconscious. I called 911, and an ambulance took her away.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Darien exclaimed, his face panic stricken. He turned around and headed back the way he came. He faintly heard the door to his apartment close and the girl was now standing beside him as he waited for the elevator. “Is she okay?” He asked, now thoroughly worried.

“She was still unconscious when I left,” she replied.

“Why did you leave?”

“We left in such a rush that we didn’t leave a note or anything to explain where we were or who to call,” she explained. “I wasn’t sure when you were going to come home, so I quickly came back to leave the aforementioned note. I was just about to leave when you came home.”

Darien nodded as they stepped into the elevator. He harshly pressed the button for the doors to close he was now very impatient. He needed to get to the hospital and see what was wrong with his wife…


	5. Part Five: The Unexpected Visitor

When Darien and Hotaru arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes later, Hotaru pointed Darien in the direction of where Serena’s room was. He dashed to her room, not caring if he ran into anyone along the way. He was worried about his wife, and he needed to see her right away. Once he reached the room number Hotaru had told him, he stood in the doorway and felt his stomach clench in worry. Lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her nose and looking slightly flushed was Serena. He walked cautiously into the room, trying to make himself believe that what he was seeing was a horrible nightmare. In a few minutes he would wake up and discover Serena sleeping right next to him looking as healthy as a horse. But as he neared the bed, he realized that this wasn’t a nightmare. It was his reality. He reached out and gently took her hand, which was clammy and hot, in his. He looked up as a doctor walked in.

“What’s wrong with her?” He asked.

“Oh, sir, don’t look so worried,” the doctor replied. “I take it this is your wife?” Darien nodded. “Well, there’s nothing to be concerned about. Serena here has just come down with a regular flu. The reason she collapsed and became unconscious was because she had a terribly high fever. In fact, if her friend hadn’t called an ambulance and brought her here, she probably would have gone into a coma and died.” Darien blanched. This doctor was such a hypocrite. Don’t worry your wife was just inches away from death but she’s going to be fine. No worries! Darien bit his lip to stop himself from shouting insults at the doctor.

“How come she didn’t notice that she had a high fever?” Darien asked the doctor. “Wouldn’t a person realize that they were running hotter than normal?”

“Probably, but if they were really busy doing something they would just shake it off and continue working,” the doctor replied. Darien thought about all those boxes back at the apartment and how most of them, when he had come back, had been unpacked. She had been working so hard on tidying up their place that she had neglected her own health! God, his little angel really needed to learn to pay attention to these things.

“If it’s just a normal flu, then she doesn’t need to be here for too much longer, right? I can take her home soon?”

“Of course you can, we just have to wait for Serena to wake up and then I’ll sign the papers for her to be discharged. The only thing she needs is bed rest and liquids to keep her hydrated. The flu should pass in a week.” The doctor walked out of the room without so much as a good-bye. Darien watched him with a raised eyebrow. He was a weird one, but then again he _was_ back in Los Angeles. He chuckled to himself and switched his attention back to his wife. He felt more at ease, now that he knew that it was only the flu and that she would survive. He really needed to stop thinking about the worst-case scenario. He sighed and put his head to her palm. Instantly she twitched, and began to stir. He looked up and watched her eyes flutter open. She wore a look of confusion.

“What the-? How did I get here?” She whispered her voice hoarse. Her eyes found Darien’s and her brow furrowed instantly. “Darien? What are you…wait a minute, where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, Serena,” he replied. “You gave me quite a scare. I thought…” he shook his head. “I came home early to surprise you, but I found your friend in our apartment instead. She told me how you collapsed and how you wouldn’t wake up. I rushed here as soon as I could.” He gazed at Serena who looked really confused now. “You do remember collapsing, don’t you?”

“I remember going to the kitchen to get Hotaru and I something to drink,” she said trying to remember what had happened an hour or so ago. “But then I felt extremely warm like I was directly in front of the sun, and that’s the last thing I remember.”

“The warmth you felt? That was a fever,” Darien explained. “You have the flu, which is a real shame. You were invited to a dinner with my new potential client tomorrow night. I know how much you love to go out and get dressed up.”

“Are you serious?” Serena asked her eyes getting wide. “Damn it!” She frowned. She had never gotten sick before. Not even a measly cold when she was in school. She wasn’t sure why, probably because she had a high immune system, but whatever the reason she was really disappointed. Darien was right, she loved going out and getting dressed up. It made her feel like a movie star. This sucked.

“Don’t take it so hard, Serena,” he said chuckling. “I promise, you will have more opportunities to get dressed up and go out. I still have to give you a tour of the city,” he winked at her. Serena smiled at him. Darien really knew how to cheer her up.

The doctor poked his head back in and smiled at Serena. “Oh good, you’re up. You gave us quite the scare there, Serena.”

* * *

The next day when Serena woke up, she felt like a sixteen-wheeler had run her over…multiple times. Every bone in her body ached. Her head was pounding, like she had a really bad hangover, but only ten times worse. Her nose, which had been fine the night before, was now running like a dripping faucet and she could feel that it was starting to block up with all sorts of mucus. Her throat was on fire and very raw. And it hurt to have her eyes open. This was her first experience with the flu and she already knew that she didn’t like it. Not one bit. Her fever, which had gone down the night before, was now raging again, but she also felt chilled.

A knock on the door made Serena turn her wary eyes to see what Darien wanted. He walked in with a tray. On this tray was a bottle of ice-cold water, a glass of orange juice, scrambled eggs, and a bottle of Motrin.

“Bless you,” she croaked as he placed the tray on the bed.

“I’m taking you feel horrible?” Darien asked his hand already touching her burning hot forehead. “Yep, the fever’s back. Take two of the Motrin, and if you’re up to it eat some of the eggs. That should help, and later for lunch I’ll make you chicken soup.”

“You don’t have to go to work today?” She asked her hand already making quick work of the cap on the Motrin bottle. Once it was opened she placed two of the tablets in her palm, and threw them into her mouth. Taking a sip of orange juice, she swallowed. Her throat clenched, but they went down.

“I’m the boss,” he replied. “My wife is sick. I’m staying home to take care of her, even though I’m really considering cancelling my dinner meeting with Sapphire. I’m not sure if I can leave you here alone when you’re this sick.”

“Don’t do that,” she whispered. “I’ll call Hotaru and ask if she wouldn’t mind coming over to take care of me. You already didn’t show up to one of the meetings, Darien, I don’t want this Sapphire guy to get the wrong impression of you.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” he said hesitantly. She had a point, even though the meeting mix up hadn’t been his fault, he still didn’t want to cancel. What would Sapphire Dawson think? “But you better check with Hotaru first. I’m serious, I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“Hand me my phone,” Serena requested leaving her palm open. Darien reached over to the nightstand and handed her her cell phone. Rolling through her contacts list, she found Hotaru’s cell phone number, which she had given Serena the night before when they got back from the hospital, and dialed.

“Hey Serena, what’s going on?”

“Not much, I just have a small request to make of you,” Serena replied.

“Okay, what’s the request?”

“Darien has a dinner meeting with that client I was telling you about and because I’m so sick he doesn’t want to leave me alone. Would you mind coming over later tonight to keep me company while he’s gone?”

“Sure, it’s not a problem,” Hotaru replied. “What time is the meeting?”

“Um, hang on…” Serena put her hand over the mouthpiece. “What time is the meeting?” She asked Darien.

“It’s around seven,” he replied checking his phone and reading the e-mail that Molly had sent him.

“Around seven,” Serena said into the mouthpiece.

“Okay, I’ll be there around six-thirty,” Hotaru said. “And tell Darien that he shouldn’t worry so much. We’ll be fine. I know kung-fu and the emergency numbers!” She laughed.

Serena giggled, “I’ll tell him that. I’ll see you later tonight then, Hotaru.” She hung up the phone. Darien was staring at her.

“What was so funny and what are you supposed to tell me?”

“Hotaru told me to tell you not to worry so much because we’ll be fine,” she smiled. “Also, she knows kung-fu and the emergency numbers.” Darien cracked a smile.

“How can I not worry about you?” He asked. “You’re sick, it’s supposed to be my job to worry about you.” He sighed. “How did you two meet anyway? I feel like I know her from somewhere.”

“We met in high school,” she replied. “We had a class together and we both couldn’t stand the teacher. We sat next to each other, and one day she made a comment about the teacher and I made a comment…we were friends ever since. It’s curious that you should say that though, because Hotaru said the same thing. She isn’t….” Serena trailed off as she took a sip of her orange juice.

“She isn’t, what?” Darien asked concerned.

“She isn’t, you know, one of…um…. your lady friends from when you were here last time.”

“No, she isn’t,” Darien replied. He trailed off as his brain shifted through the girls he had been with when he was here in Los Angeles last year. Hotaru definitely wasn’t one of them. But if she wasn’t…then how come he felt like he had seen her before? He shook his head. He’d figure it out later. He had other concerns pressing on his mind at that moment.   

* * *

After making sure that Hotaru and Serena would be okay without him for a few hours, and with a great reluctance, he left his apartment to go to his dinner meeting with Sapphire Dawson. When he arrived at the restaurant, the hostess showed him to the table where Sapphire and a woman were already there. He checked his watch to make sure that he was on time. It read 6:57. He was three minutes early.

“Darien Shields,” Sapphire said standing up to shake his hand. Darien shook his hand and turned to the woman that he had been sitting beside. “I was just talking to your lovely wife here.”

“My wife?” Darien asked. He now remembered what he had forgotten to do that afternoon. He was supposed to call Molly and tell her to call Luna so she could tell Sapphire that his wife wouldn’t be coming to dinner that night because of her illness. But who was this woman who was acting like his wife?

“I’m not his wife, Mr. Dawson,” a feminine voice answered and she stood up to face Darien. “But I’m really surprised that she isn’t here with you. Where is the lovely Serena that I have heard so much about?”

Darien felt his jaw drop a little bit, “What are _you_ doing here?”


	6. Part Six: The Test

“What are _you_ doing here?” Darien found himself asking the woman with aquamarine hair again, this time his tone more light. It had been awhile since he last saw her, and seeing her again after a year was a shock to his system, especially because she was supposed to be on vacation. The woman smiled at him and gave him a hug.

“I totally forgot that you were coming back stateside,” she said. “So, I got myself onto the next available flight and came back to make sure nothing had been messed up in my absence. To my surprise, I found the temp that I hired to take my place, crying in the corner. You didn’t happen to have anything to do with that, did you, Darien?”

“I might have,” Darien admitted with a smile on his face. “But she forgot to inform me of a meeting time change when I landed. Hence, why we’re meeting with Sapphire, now. I apologize,” he said switching his attention to the man that he had forgotten about as soon as he started talking with the woman. “But I haven’t seen Michelle in over a year.”

“It’s not a problem,” Sapphire said smiling. “But shall we sit down and hold this discussion after we order something to eat? Due to a long meeting, I didn’t have lunch.” Darien nodded and pushed out his chair to sit down. Michelle who was sitting on his right, smiled at Sapphire who had pushed out her chair for her. She opened her menu and began browsing the selections. “So, Darien, you never did answer Michelle’s question. Where is your lovely wife this evening?”

“Serena, unfortunately, came down with the flu last night,” Darien replied. “I’ve been at home taking care of her, and forgot to call Luna to inform you of the change of plans. But apparently, it didn’t matter since Michelle came instead.” He smiled at his secretary, who smiled back at him. The two of them had always been close, because they had been brought up in the same social circle. The media believed that one day there would be an arranged marriage between the two of them, but Michelle and Darien knew that they were only friends. Unfortunately, Michelle’s family’s business had suffered some financial hardships and had to declare bankruptcy four years ago. Darien, who had taken over his family’s business, had hired Michelle to be his secretary so that way she could have an income while her family’s assets were being figured out.

“The poor thing,” Michelle said. “You guys have barely been back for twenty-four hours, and she already falls ill. I hope she’s okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Darien replied. “We just have to wait for the disease to run its course. So she is staying at home with a friend while I’m out to dinner with you. She apologizes also,” he mentioned to Sapphire, “that she couldn’t make it this evening.”

“Tell her not to worry about it, and I wish her a speedy recovery. I’ve had the misfortune of coming down with the flu while in a foreign country and it was not the best experience.”

The waiter came to take their orders, and once he walked away with their menus, Sapphire turned back to Darien. “So, Darien, let’s talk some business, shall we?”       

* * *

Hotaru shouldn’t have been sneaking around Serena’s apartment, but since her charge for the evening was asleep with a cold compress pressed to her head, she had nothing else to do. Yes, the apartment was decked out with the best entertainment system in the world, and had cable with over 600 channels, but she was really curious about Serena’s new husband. She had the feeling that she knew Darien Shields from somewhere and it wasn’t because of the many tabloids he had been in. She had never been one of Darien’s ‘girls of the night’ of that she was sure of, but how else could she possibly know him? Unless…. no, it couldn’t be…. she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number. She closed herself into the bathroom, just in case Serena woke up, she didn’t want her to overhear this conversation.

* * *

Serena woke up with a start and felt like someone was dunking her head in a bucketful of fire. Damn this fever, she couldn’t help but think. She sat up cautiously, knowing that along with the fever she would be experiencing dizzy spells and she didn’t want to lose her balance. She was enough of a klutz as it was. Her movements especially slow, she made her way to the bathroom, but stopped short when she saw that the door was closed. Was Hotaru in there, and if she was why was Serena hearing voices? Who was she talking to? She pressed her ear to the door, but could barely hear due to her clogged up ears. But she did catch some things.

“Did you…” she thought she heard Hotaru say and then after awhile of silence, she heard sobs. Not sure what was going on, Serena knocked on the door.

“Hotaru? Are you in there?” She heard a squeak of surprise and then in a few seconds Hotaru opened the door, her eyes red as if she had been crying. Something was poking out of her pocket, it looked like her cell phone. She rubbed her hands over her eyes.

“I didn’t think you’d be awake for a few hours,” she said her voice hoarse.

“I woke up because my fever’s back,” Serena replied. “But are you okay, Hotaru? You look like you’ve been crying. Did something happen?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Really, but you’re not. Let’s get you some Motrin, okay?” She led Serena back to the bed and set her up so that a new cold compress was back on her head. While Hotaru was in the bathroom, she fingered her pocket where she had stored Darien’s comb in a plastic zip locked bag. She had to know….

* * *

_A week later…_

Darien slumped back into his apartment, and knew without looking at the clock that it was late. He’d be very surprised if Serena was still up. He hadn’t been spending a lot of time at home lately, Sapphire was taking more convincing than he had originally planned. Days and nights had been spent on making up a contract that Sapphire would like, but he kept changing his demands. He sighed, and looked away to the bedroom. Serena had been real supportive of these nights, and she had finally gotten over that flu that she had. But the one thing that she wasn’t too sure of was the picture she had seen the morning after the dinner with Sapphire and Michelle. He had explained that Michelle was his secretary and they were only friends, but Serena had seen Michelle before in the tabloids before he went back to Tokyo and had her pegged as one of his ladies.

Darien sighed again, and shuffled into the family room. It was best to sleep on the couch and not disturb Serena, even though he desperately wanted to sleep next to her. He was about to sit down and make himself comfortable for the night, when he heard a sound from behind him. He turned and was surprised to see Serena standing at the doorway to their bedroom, her arms crossed over her chest.

“I should have known that you’d still be up,” he found himself saying.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she shrugged. “Kind of late for you to be getting home. Sapphire’s contract again?” She pushed away from the doorway, and walked closer to him.

“Yes, he keeps changing his demands,” he sighed. “But why couldn’t you sleep?” His eyes searched hers, he saw that there was worry in that gaze. Something was bugging her and she wasn’t going to tell him about it. “Serena, what’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s nothing, or at least, I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said turning her back on him. Darien stepped up behind her and turned her so that way she was facing him again. The sight shocked him. There were tears running down her face. How had things gotten so bad between them?

“Serena, tell me,” he whispered lowering his head so he was staring directly into her eyes.

“The doctor from the hospital called,” she replied. “Something showed up in one of the tests that they ran when I was there last week. He wants me to come back in….” she trailed off. Darien instantly enveloped her into a hug, holding her as close as he possibly could. No wonder she couldn’t sleep. What had shown up on one of her tests? What was going on?

“It’s going to be okay,” he reassured her. “It’s going to be just fine.” He felt Serena’s arms encircle him, returning his hug. Her head nuzzled into his chest. She hadn’t felt like they were this close ever since she had gotten sick. They hadn’t even shared the same bed since they had arrived here.

“Darien,” she whispered. “Please tell me that you don’t have any intentions of sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Not now, I don’t,” he whispered back a light of lust in his eyes. He leaned his head down and captured her lips with his. Serena felt herself deepen the kiss and once they broke apart, breathless, he took her hand in his and led her to the bedroom.      

* * *

Serena really hated doctor’s offices. They were so fake with happy colors and peaceful paintings that she wanted to take a can of black paint and redo them all. There was nothing happy about a doctor’s office. This is where doctors took their patients and turned their worlds upside down with really bad news. Serena felt her leg bouncing beneath her. She was impatient and nervous at the same time. What could possibly be wrong with her?

Dr. Larson walked in with a file in his hand.

“Serena Shields,” he said shaking her hand. “It’s good to see you again. Sorry to call you in like this but like I said there was something on one of the tests that I have to talk to you about.”

“Okay, is it something bad?” She asked.

“Well, are you still feeling queasy?”

“Sort of, why?”

“Well, Serena, I’m pleased to tell you that you’re pregnant.”       

* * *

Hotaru had the envelope in her hands and she knew that they were shaking. Her life could possibly change with what was in this envelope. She sighed. There was no point in waiting, either her life was going to change or it wasn’t. With a shaky finger she slit open the envelope and took out the piece of paper that was inside. She read over it, and felt it slip from her hands and flutter to the floor.

“Oh my God…” she whispered.


	7. Part Seven: The Affairs

Serena left the doctor’s office late that afternoon. Her purse carried informational brochures and prenatal vitamins to make sure that the baby that she was now holding in her stomach would come out healthy. _You’re pregnant,_ the doctor’s words echoed in her head as she got into her car. How could that possibly be though? Darien and her had been careful, even though Serena desperately wanted to start a family with him. The only time that she could think of that they hadn’t been careful was that one time before Halloween. That had to be it, since the doctor had said that she was little more than three months along. She should have known though when she came down with the ‘flu’ that something was up. She never got sick.

She shook her head and giggled a little bit. She was pregnant. Serena could only imagine what Darien was going to say when she told him…at that she bit her lip. Things between the two of them hadn’t been the best over the last week. She wasn’t afraid to admit it. Whether it was because of Darien’s work or her being jealous of the aquamarine haired beauty that the media had pictured with him at that dinner she couldn’t make… Serena sighed, last night had been the first time that they had been together in awhile, and she was hoping to keep things that way. She tossed her cell phone back into her purse and drove off.

She’d tell Darien the news tonight over dinner.           

* * *

Serena had waited what seemed like four hours for Darien to come home. She had ordered in his favorite Chinese food from that place he had told her about when they first arrived here, and had it dished out on plates. She had even lit some candles, but he didn’t show. With a great regret, Serena took the plates back into the kitchen and put some Saran-wrap over them. She knew that things at work were crazy for him at the moment, but couldn’t he at least call and tell her when he was going to be home? She placed the plates in the fridge, and pulled out her cell phone. Running through her contacts, she dialed.

_“Hello, you’ve reached Hotaru Taylor’s cell phone. I can’t come to the phone right now, but if you leave me a message I’ll get back to you.”_

“Hey Hotaru…”  

* * *

Darien didn’t come home until after two in the morning that night, but Serena had already fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him. When she woke up the following morning, she was in their bed and Darien had already left for work. She groaned out loud when she saw this and was half tempted to call him at the office to tell her what she couldn’t last night, but a bright blue post-it note on the fridge door stopped her. Walking over, she peered at it intently.

_My dearest Sere,_

_I apologize for my late arrival last night, and I’m hoping everything went well at the doctor’s office yesterday afternoon. Taking from the Chinese food I saw in the fridge and the candles on the dinning room table, you had something special planned for last night. I’ll make it up to you later on tonight. It’s time you spent a night out on the town._

_I’ll be home around six._

_Love,_

_Darien_

Serena raised an eyebrow at the post-it note. So he had noticed the Chinese food in the fridge, hm? He better have something good up his sleeve if he wanted to make it up to her so desperately. She laughed out loud. It was about time that she had a night out on the town. Ever since her arrival, she hadn’t been out to anywhere except the grocery store and the hospital. But if Darien was going to be taking her out that night that meant that she was going to need to get something new to wear. Which meant…she squealed in delight, _shopping_! She couldn’t help but jump up and down at the thought. If there was anything in the world that she loved more than Darien, it was shopping. She turned on her heal and walked out of the kitchen to get ready.        

* * *

“Hey, Serena!” A voice exclaimed from behind her. Serena, who didn’t seem to hear the voice, continued walking down the street browsing in store windows. Her purple aviators were pushed all the way up her nose, but she lowered them to take a closer look at a certain window’s display. She had been out here over two hours trying to find something amazing to wear that night, but so far, she had come up empty. She sighed and continued on walking, until she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

“Oi, Serena, are you deaf?” The voice said from behind her. “I’ve been screaming your name for the last five minutes!” Serena turned around and felt her jaw hit the floor. Standing behind her, smirking at her was Seiya! She continued to stare, much to Seiya’s amusement. “Hello? Earth to Serena, do you see something you like?” He winked at her, breaking her out of her stunned silence.

“Oh, you!” She couldn’t help but smack him playfully on the arm. “You just couldn’t resist that one could you? But you should know better! I’m married now, or don’t you remember playing at my reception?”

“Of course I remember,” Seiya smiled at her. “I was just teasing you, Serena, but what are you doing in Los Angeles? I thought you would have been still on your honeymoon with Darien?”

“Darien’s actually the reason I’m in Los Angeles. We moved out here a week ago because of a client that he is pursuing. He’s a major client for Darien’s company, and is based out here, so to be closer to this client he moved back out here. And since Darien and I are married, I came along with him.”

“Wow, that’s amazing,” he said in response.

“It kind of is,” Serena nodded her head. “But what are you doing here, Seiya? I thought you were still back in Tokyo. Did something happen with Trista and Emily?”

“Well, uh…” he trailed off looking uncomfortable at the change of topic. Serena watched him with an inquisitive eye. Something was bothering him. He finally sighed. “Honestly? Things between Trista and me are kind of strained right now. I’m not sure what’s going on with her, but it’s like she’s turned into a different person since the New Year started. So, when Haruka called saying that she needed me in the LA branch of the label, I took the first available flight. I’m hoping the time apart will do us some good, you know?”

“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry to hear that, Seiya,” Serena said giving him a brief hug. “I’m sure everything will work out between the two of you when you go back. Women sometimes can be a little hard to figure out. I should know, since I am one.” She laughed, and Seiya smiled at her.

“I hope you’re right, Serena. So what are you up to right now?”

“Well, Darien is going to take me out tonight, and I was just looking for a new outfit,” she explained. “But I just can’t seem to find anything that screams amazing, which is weird, you know? Considering this is LA and all I thought there would be a better selection.”

“There is a better selection. You’re just not looking in the right place,” he smiled. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. You said that you’ve only been in LA for a week?” Serena nodded. “Well, a week is not long enough to have seen the beautiful city, is it? So what do you say if I showed you around town, and helped you find that outfit that just screams amazing?”

Serena laughed as he used the words that she had just used, “You know what? That sounds like a really good idea. I would love to see this city and with a good friend. So, let’s do this!”

“Okay, well then, shall we, Mrs. Shields?” He offered out his arm, which Serena graciously took, fighting a batch of giggles the whole way.

“We shall, Mr. Slater,” she replied and they began walking down the street. Not realizing that they were being followed.

* * *

 _“Hey Hotaru, it’s Serena. Where have you been, hon? I feel like we haven’t spoken since you came over to baby-sit me. I hope everything is all right? Anyway, I just though I’d give you a call, since Darien is late from work like usual, and I need to tell_ somebody _my news. I just wished you had picked up your phone, since this isn’t news that should be left on a voicemail, but here it goes…I’m pregnant. Yeah, shocker isn’t it? And the sad thing is that you shouldn’t be the first one that I tell this to, it should be Darien, but like I said he’s late from work again. …Okay, well, look, Hotaru, when you get the chance, give me a call? I’ll talk to you soon!”_

Hotaru sighed as she listened to the end of Serena’s message that she had left on her cell phone the night before. It was true that she hadn’t been in contact with her since she had looked after her, but that was because she was dealing with issues of her own. She had finally found out why Darien looked so familiar to her, and it hadn’t been the result she had been expecting. If anything, it had caused her to question everything that she had come to know about her life, and it had also caused her to search for answers as to how it had all happened. She sighed again, and looked up at the elevator ceiling. The elevator was on the 15th floor, his office was on the 20th. She had five more floors to go, before she could talk to him about what she had found out.

She just hoped that he wasn’t too busy to talk to her.

As the elevator stopped on each of the floors, she watched as people climbed on and off. They all looked at her with questioning glances, and she really couldn’t blame them. She hadn’t brushed her hair that morning, and her clothes were probably a rumpled mess. Not to mention that they weren’t really business attire appropriate. She was wearing a pair of destroyed skinny jeans and a black tank top, while the people around her were in suits and skirts. She must have looked rather odd.

Finally, the elevator stopped on the 20th floor and she stepped out. Her heart was thundering like a horse in her chest. Why was she so nervous? She didn’t get nervous about confrontations. But for some reason, she knew that this one was different. She walked along the hallway, receiving more inquisitive glances, but she ignored them all. She finally stopped in front of a desk where a young woman with aquamarine hair sat. The woman looked up from her computer screen, and gave her a once over.

“Um…can I help you dear?” She asked Hotaru, hesitantly.

“Yes, my name is Hotaru Tyler and I need to speak to Darien Shields,” she replied.

“Can I ask what this is about?”

“Just tell him that it’s urgent.” The woman nodded and picked up the phone.

“Darien? Yes, a woman named Hotaru Tyler needs to see you, she says it’s urgent.” Something was said in response as the woman nodded her head and hung up the phone. “Go right on in.” She smiled at Hotaru.

“Thank you,” she whispered and moved towards the door. Before she could open it, it swung open revealing the very man she was going to go see. He looked down at her in question over her appearance and ushered her into his office. As soon as she was in he closed the door behind her.

“Michelle said that it was urgent,” he said sitting across from her. “Is something wrong with Serena?”

“No, Serena is fine I’m sure,” she replied her eyes on his. That hair, she should have known! “But the matter is urgent. I don’t even know where to start…” she trailed off feeling her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

“Well, start from the beginning,” he said smiling sympathetically.

“Okay, well, when I first came to see Serena when the two of you first moved here a week ago, I saw a picture of you and I couldn’t help but feel that I knew you from somewhere,” she said. “Then when I saw you in person, the feeling intensified.”

“I felt the same way,” Darien replied a surprised tone in his voice. “But how can that be, when I don’t think we’ve ever met? Unless…have we met before?”

“No,” Hotaru shook her head. “Trust me, we have _not_ met before. But where was I? Oh, yes, when I met you the feeling intensified. I couldn’t figure out how I knew you, and so, when I was sent to watch over Serena while you were at that dinner last week, I made a phone call to my mother. She told me this story….”

“Please continue.”

“My mother met this man, almost twenty-three years ago, who was a wealthy businessman. They met, because this man wanted to take over my father’s company. Things weren’t going so well with my parent’s relationship and this businessman was very kind to my mother. Too kind, it seems, for she had an affair with this man, however, things did not end well. My mother became pregnant, and the businessman wanted nothing to do with her after that. He left her, and my father found out about the affair and how she was pregnant and filed for a divorce.”

“So, this businessman who had the affair with your mother, who was he?” Darien asked, even though a part of him already knew what her answer was going to be.

“His name was James Shields,” she replied her eyes directly on his. “Apparently, I am your half-sister, Darien.”


	8. Part Eight: The Fight

Darien tried to process this information that Hotaru had just revealed to him, but he was having a rather hard time doing that. He always knew that his father was one mean old son of a bitch, but he hadn’t realized just how cold-hearted he had really been. To start an affair with an already married woman, and then leaving her as soon as she became pregnant with his child…well that was just heartless. _But how do you know that the child was actually his? What if she is just saying that she is your half-sister, because she wants money, which she would be entitled to if she were really your half-sister?_ A voice couldn’t help but say in his head. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the voice was right. How _did_ he know that Hotaru was telling the truth?

“Hotaru, I don’t meant to sound rude or anything, but how do you know that I am your half-brother? That is to say, do you have any proof to support this claim that you are making?”

“I figured you’d ask me that,” she replied a small smile on her lips. “So, I had them run a DNA test, just to make sure.” She fetched into her bag and handed him an envelope. He took it from her and took out the piece of paper that was inside. His eyes raked over the text that showed the results and nodded his head. Hotaru was really his half-sister, but he still had a few more questions to ask her.

“Hm, so it seems we really are related,” he mused. “But how did you get a sample of my DNA? I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if you plucked a hair out of my head, or swabbed my mouth with a q-tip.”

“Well, that night that you were out to that dinner, I had gotten the story from my mother, and I wanted to know if it was true, so I swiped your comb and sent it off for testing.” She shrugged. “I figured it would be best to come with you, if I was absolutely sure that what I was telling you was true, and not based on here say.”

Darien couldn’t help but smile, “You’re definitely related to me, because I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say the word ‘here say’ other than me. But I do have more questions for you…”

“Darien, Sapphire Dawson is on line one,” Michelle interrupted. “He says that it’s urgent. It’s about that one demand that you were asking about last night.”

“Oh, um…” he looked at Hotaru, “I have to take this. Can we meet for lunch tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course,” Hotaru said standing up from the chair. “I’ll text you the details of where we’ll meet.”

“Sounds good,” he replied. “I’m glad we finally figured this out, Hotaru. It was sort of worrying Serena that we seemed to know each other, considering my history with women in this city…”

“Darien, Mr. Dawson?”

“Oh, uh, yes,” he waved at Hotaru who showed herself out of the office. “Yes, hello, Sapphire, you wanted to speak to me about the third demand of your contract?”      

* * *

Serena forgot how nice it was to hang out with Seiya. They hadn’t hung out together like this since before they had been engaged last year. But they both knew things were different between the two of them now, they were only friends, nothing more. She was laughing at one of Seiya’s stories that he was telling her about what had happened at the meeting with the head of the record label earlier that morning, when she caught sight of the time. She had to hurry home if she wanted to have anytime to get ready before Darien arrived home to take her out!

“Hey, I hate to go, but it’s getting late,” she said checking her cell phone again. “And I have to go home and get ready before Darien comes home.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Seiya said catching the time. “I forgot how much fun it was to hang out with you, Serena. We really should do this again sometime. You know when you’re looking to get out of that penthouse apartment?” He chuckled.

“We definitely should,” Serena replied nodding her head. “You have my number, so call me when you want to get together again. I really have to go though. Got to put on this amazing outfit and make myself look presentable for my debut on the LA night scene.” She winked at him and pulled out of her parking spot, waving at him as she drove off down the street. Seiya, who had returned the wave, continued to stare after as she began to disappear from view. She had no idea how nice it _had_ been to see her again. None at all.  

* * *

Serena made it home in the nick of time, it was five-thirty, and she had a half an hour to get ready before Darien came home from work. She sped into the bathroom and began to get ready for the amazing evening that Darien had planned for her. Even though, she had no idea where they were going to go, and hoped that the outfit that she had gotten today would be fancy enough/causal enough for what he had planned. She was slipping on her shirt, when she heard the door to the apartment open. She looked at the clock, 5:54; damn, he was six minutes early! She made sure her shirt was in place and that her make up hadn’t been smudged, before she walked out of the bathroom to greet her husband who she hadn’t seen in almost twenty-four hours.

He looked up at her approach into the living room, and gifted her with a breathtaking smile. He walked forward and gathered her into his arms before placing a kiss on her welcoming lips.

When he pulled away he whispered, “Hello, my beautiful wife.”

She smiled at him in return, “Hello, my dear husband. How was work?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied placing a finger over her lips. “I haven’t seen you since yesterday, and even then we barely talked. I refuse to talk about anything work related on your first night out on the city. Are you ready to go?”

“Of course, just let me grab my purse.”   

* * *

When Serena stepped out of the car, she finally understood that she was no longer in Tokyo. A man had opened the car door for her and waited for her to step out, onto a red carpet. Serena threw a quizzical look back at Darien, who was walking around the car and towards her. He draped his arm around her waist and pulled her forward, towards a crazy huge crowd. Serena followed along, until she could no longer see for two-dozen flashing lights instantly blinded her. She blinked rapidly, trying to regain her sight, and when she did she saw that the lights that had flashed belonged to members of the paparazzi. What exactly was going on here tonight?

“Darien, Darien!” She heard people screaming from beside the paparazzi. Darien waved and smiled at the girls who were screaming his name, but his grip instantly tightened around Serena’s waist. She looked up at him confused by the action, but he just continued to pull her forward. She didn’t resist, not really caring for the flashes going off in her face every minute. Luckily, the paparazzi weren’t allowed inside the building that they had quickly entered while she was trying to ignore the flashes. Once inside, Darien let go of Serena’s waist and smiled down at her apologetically.

“Are you okay?” He asked concerned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that the paparazzi were going to be here this evening, or else I would have warned you ahead of time to wear sunglasses.”

“I’m okay, but I’m not sure if I’ll be seeing anything anytime soon,” she blinked rapidly again. “But what’s going on, Darien? Why _are_ the paparazzi here? Is there some major actor or actress here or something?”

“Not quite,” he smiled sheepishly. “I’m afraid someone must have tipped them off that I was going to be here this evening. I assure you once I find out whom, there will be a severe punishment. But come, you must be starving.” He offered her a hand and led her further into the restaurant that they were going to dine in that evening. The maitre – d looked almost stunned at their arrival. He quickly came around from his stand to shake Darien’s hand.

“Mr. Shields, I am _so_ sorry about the reception that you received at your arrival. I don’t know who was so daft as to alert the paparazzi that you were going to be dining here this evening, but I assure you, if the leak was someone in our restaurant they will be fired immediately. I hope you will still be patronizing this place in the future?”

“My dear friend, there has been no harm done,” Darien said a smile on his face. “But is the paparazzi being here really so bad? At least you get more press for your delectable restaurant.” Serena watched all of this with quiet amusement. She was definitely _not_ in Tokyo anymore. She loved every minute of it.

“If you are sure, Mr. Shields, then I shall happily escort you and the beautiful woman here. Can I have your name, Ms.?” The maitre-d turned his attention to her, and she instantly felt another smile appear on her lips. She offered out her hand for him to shake.

“Oh, of course, Jeffery, this is my wife, Serena,” Darien introduced her. Jeffery’s eyes widened at the word wife.

“Mr. Shields, you have gotten married while you were away?” He asked surprised and shook Serena’s hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Shields. I hope that you are finding Los Angeles to your liking?”

“Los Angeles is a lovely city,” she replied. “I’m enjoying my stay here very much.” Darien shot his bright smile at her, and she felt hers widening. This was exactly what she needed to lift her spirits, and at the moment she felt like the friction that had arose over the last week between her and Darien had disappeared. Tonight would be a perfect time to _finally_ tell him of her news.

“I’m glad to hear it, Mrs. Shields. So, I shall escort the two of you to your table, now, yes?” Jeffery gathered two leather bound menus from his stand and ushered them to follow him into the main dining room. As Serena entered, she couldn’t help but stare at the amazingly high ceilings with at least a dozen crystal chandeliers hanging from it. Jeffery stopped at a table that was in the middle of the room. He placed their menus on top of the table and instantly pulled out Serena’s chair for her. She smiled at him in thanks and sat down as gracefully as she could.

“Your server will be with you shortly,” he said smiling at the two of them. “I hope you enjoy your meal, Mr. Shields, Mrs. Shields.” He nodded at each of them and then turned on his heal and walked away. Darien was grinning at her from over his menu.

“So? What do you think of the place?” He asked her.

“It’s breathtaking,” she replied honestly and continued to look around the restaurant. There were a dozen or so more couples dining with them. They were spread out though through the spacious room. She turned back to her date, and smiled at him before picking up her menu. “So, what do you suggest that I get here?”

“Well, the steak here is pretty good,” he commented. “But you’re more of a pasta person, so I would suggest the chicken primavera.”

“Good evening,” the server said from beside them. Darien and Serena looked up at his approach and nodded at him. “My name is Edward and I will be your server this evening. Can I get something for you to drink, madam?”

“Just ice water, for me, thank you,” she replied much to Darien’s surprise.

“Serena, I suggest that you have their house red wine if you’re going to have the chicken primavera.”

“No, ice water is just fine,” Serena quickly replied. Darien just shrugged and ordered the same surprised that she didn’t order a glass of red wine. In fact, the last time Serena hadn’t ordered an alcoholic drink when they went out together, was that first time last year… He shook it off. She probably just didn’t want to get too drunk with the paparazzi hanging around.

The server came back with their drinks and set them down on the table. “Are you ready to order?” He asked the two of them. Darien glanced at Serena who nodded her head, and he ushered for her to start.

“I’ll have your chicken primavera,” she replied.

“An excellent choice,” the server commented. “And for you, sir?”

“I’ll have your house sirloin,” he replied.

“And how would you like that cooked?”

“Well done.”

“Very well,” the server took their menus and walked away from the table. As soon as he was out of earshot, Darien took a hold of Serena’s hands and just sat there staring at her. Serena felt her face heat up at the intense gaze.

“So…I know you said that you weren’t going to talk about anything work related tonight, but did anything else exciting happen to you today?” She asked, delaying in telling him her news.

“Actually, yes, something exciting did happen today,” he replied. “Hotaru came into see me today about an urgent matter. Apparently, the reason that we thought we knew each other, wasn’t because of what you thought, but because well…Hotaru is my half-sister.”

“WHAT? How is that possible?” Serena asked startled.

“Well…”

* * *

Serena woke up that morning to the sun shining in through the bedroom windows and the feeling of being rather content. She sat up and stretched, but instantly regretted the action. Something in her stomach dropped, and she felt nauseous. Quickly getting out of bed, she dashed to the bathroom, a hand covered over her mouth. Once there she spilled everything that was in her stomach into the toilet, and instantly groaned. _Morning sickness,_ she couldn’t help but think as she emptied her stomach twice more, before flushing. Standing up carefully, she made her way to the sink and gasped at the image in the mirror. She looked absolutely horrible, like she was suffering from another bout of flu…

She sighed and began to clean herself up. After twenty minutes, she exited the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she wouldn’t be eating anything, but she would try to at least have a glass of orange juice. But she didn’t get very far, for standing in the living room, his arms crossed over his chest was Darien. She looked at him openly surprised that he was still at home, she would have thought that he would have been at the office already. But that look that he was wearing on his face! He looked angry…what could he possibly be so pissed about?

“Good morning,” she said her voice hesitant, Darien’s eyebrows seemed to furrow deeper. He was really pissed off.

“Good morning, Serena,” he said his voice cold. “Is there anything that you want to tell me about?” Serena frowned again, knowing that she should probably tell him that she was pregnant, since she didn’t get the chance to do it last night, but she doubted that that was the reason he was so angry, so she went with her back up plan.

“No, there’s nothing.”

“Really? Are you sure about that? Nothing you want to tell me, at all, about something that happened yesterday while I was at work? You didn’t happen to run into anybody?”

Now Serena was really confused, was he talking about her running into Seiya? But how did he know about that? “Actually, I ran into Seiya yesterday while I was out shopping for an outfit for last night. Why do you want to know about that though?”

“Because apparently you were followed,” he threw a newspaper at her, but it wasn’t a regular newspaper. This was a tabloid and there was a picture of her and Seiya on the cover with a caption that read: **THREE STARLIGHTS LEAD SINGER, DARIEN SHIELDS, AND A MYSTERIOUS BLONDE WOMAN. IS THIS THE NEW LOVE TRIANGLE?**

“You don’t actually believe this do you?” Serena asked looking up at Darien with hurt eyes. Darien out of all people should know how untrue stories in the tabloids usually were. It was the lowest form of journalism out there.

“I don’t know what to believe, Serena,” he replied. “They have you quoted in there talking to him about how you ‘should do this again.’ And considering that the two of you used to be engaged? I really don’t know what to believe.”

“But Darien, I’m married to you!” She exclaimed. “Seiya and I were a long time ago, and you know very well that I was never truly in love with him, like I am with you.” She felt tears brimming over her eyes, and that nauseous feeling return to her stomach.

“Yes, but you used him as a placeholder before, when I was out in LA and was sleeping around with those woman. You admitted it yourself last night that things between us have been strained at best…” he trailed off and sighed. “I just didn’t think you would ever do this to me…”

“Are you honestly saying that you think I’m having an affair with Seiya?” Serena asked near hysteria. She couldn’t believe the words coming out of Darien’s mouth. Things had been so perfect between the two of them last night, that she thought that what had been going on between the two of them was only them getting adjusted to living in Los Angeles. It had been a fairytale. But apparently, the clock had struck midnight, and her fantasy night was over. “You know I would never cheat on you!”

“Yeah, but it’s happened once before, remember? When you were engaged to Seiya, you and I slept together and were carrying on a relationship under his nose. Who am I to say that you aren’t doing the same thing with Seiya right now?”

 _“Because you idiot I’m in love with you and not Seiya. We’re only just friends, but apparently you…. you know what it doesn’t matter. I can see it in your eyes that you don’t believe me…”_ Serena trailed off and ran for the bathroom. Her nausea had finally had enough, and she slammed the door behind her. As she emptied her stomach once more, she felt hot tears flow down her cheeks and the door to the apartment close. Darien had left.        

* * *

Darien was in a wretched mood for the rest of the day. He was short with his coworkers and he was even downright rude to Michelle. He had thought that things between him and Serena were finally getting back to normal, but apparently he was wrong. She was cheating on him, right under his nose. But somehow he couldn’t blame her, things between the two of them had been horrible lately, and it was mostly his fault for coming home so late. He sighed, he should have made more of an effort to make Serena more comfortable in this city, to make her feel that she was still loved. He got up from his desk and walked out of his office.

“Darien, where are you going?” Michelle asked.

“I’m going home,” he replied and walked past her. He was going to make more of an effort, starting now. He was going to make sure that he wiped away any memory that Serena still had of Seiya. She was _his wife_ after all.

When Darien arrived back at the apartment though, he found it empty. Serena had obviously left to go somewhere, so he tried calling her cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail. Groaning in frustration, he walked into their bedroom and was surprised to find the closet doors thrown open.

Upon further inspection he found that all of Serena’s clothes were gone and so was her suitcase.


	9. Part Nine: The Shower

Serena leaned back in her seat and let out a shaky breath knowing for a fact that her nerves hadn’t settled quite yet. It was horrible, she didn’t want to be here, but Darien had left her no choice. After openly accusing her of cheating on him, which she hadn’t, she couldn’t be in that apartment anymore. Hell, she couldn’t even be in the same city as him she was so angry. So, as soon as she felt well enough she packed up her stuff, got in her car and drove to the airport where she booked the first available flight back to Tokyo. Now, she was sitting in the middle seat, and couldn’t believe that she was going to spend the next eleven hours and eighteen minutes squashed between these two businessmen. She should have booked a first class ticket. She closed her eyes and hoped to sleep for the rest of the flight, but knew that her mind would not let her rest. It was too preoccupied with what had happened since she had woken up that morning.

How could Darien think that she would ever cheat on him, especially after what had happened the previous night? Not to mention that she was carrying _his_ child – not Seiya’s – in her belly. Her arms instantly encircled her stomach, knowing that all this stress probably wasn’t too healthy for the baby. She sighed and tried to put her mind at ease. She just needed time away from Darien, and hopefully with the time apart, Darien would realize what he had accused her of and try to apologize.

Even though, Serena knew that she wouldn’t be going back unless he made a really big apology. Something even the romantic-comedies would have been jealous over…    

* * *

Back in Los Angeles, Darien had collapsed on the bed in disbelief when he saw that Serena’s stuff was gone, along with her suitcase. He knew that it must have been a shock to her that morning, since it was their first major fight as a married couple, but didn’t she know that he was such a pigheaded loon? The first thing he did when he saw that headline this morning was instantly think of what had happened between the two of them when Serena and Seiya had been engaged. Now, of course, he knew the only reason that Serena had done that was because she wasn’t really in love with Seiya. Not like the way she loved Darien. That’s why he had left work early, to come home and tell her that…but she had disappeared. He hung his head in despair. _What am I supposed to do now?_ The thought drifted in his head for a moment, before he realized what he had to do. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed.

“Hello?” The voice on the other line answered.

“Hey, do you have a minute? We need to talk…”       

* * *

Serena tiredly walked through the airport terminal dragging her suitcase behind her. The people around her, kept giving her quizzical looks, but she didn’t care. She hadn’t gotten too much sleep on the plane, and she felt that at any moment she was going to throw up what was left in her stomach, which wasn’t much considering that she hadn’t had much to eat the day before. Her only silver lining was a familiar face waiting for her near the luggage carasoul. He smiled once he saw her, even though she could tell he was concerned at her appearance. Once she was in walking distance, Andrew came up to her and hugged her.

“Hey, Andy,” she whispered hugging him back. “Thanks for coming to pick me up. How is everyone doing?” Andrew took her suitcase from her, and stared down at the blonde. The look of worry was back on his face. She didn’t look very well.

“How is everyone doing? Sere, I should be asking you that question,” he replied. “You look as if you hadn’t slept in days, and you look really ill. Is everything all right?”

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep very well on the plane that’s all.” She looked around, surprised that her blonde friend, who she had called after she booked her flight back to Tokyo wasn’t bobbing around and peppering her with questions. “Mina didn’t come with you?”

"She’s out in the car,” Andrew said pointing behind him. “But we better hurry up. I bet she had more questions to ask you. We were really surprised when you called saying that you were coming back without Darien. I hate to ask, but is everything okay? He didn’t do something to hurt you, did he?”

Serena smiled at the familiar older brotherly role that he was playing again. She knew that she could always count on him and Mina when she needed help, which of course she needed right now. “Darien hasn’t done anything to hurt me, well, at least not _physically_. But before you go all postal on me, I’ll explain everything in the car. I have some news for the both of you…” she smiled a grim smile. Andrew didn’t say anything in response, and just walked out of the terminal towards the parking lot. Once in sight of the silver BMW, he ushered Serena forward into the backseat, and he put her suitcase in the trunk. Mina, who was behind the wheel, took one look at her friend in the rearview mirror, and knew that something was wrong.

“Okay, Serena,” she said without a greeting. “Spill. Why are you back in Tokyo? And where the hell is Darien?”

Serena didn’t need any more of a push. She instantly spilled into her story about what had happened since their arrival in Los Angeles, including her becoming sick with the ‘flu’ and soon finding out that she was pregnant. Then she told them about running into Seiya and how that previous morning Darien had accused her of cheating on him with Seiya because of some stupid pictures of the two of them together in a tabloid. After her story, she reached up to find the tears that had been threatening to spill over since she arrived on the plane pouring down her cheeks.

“Oh, Serena,” Mina began, her tone full of remorse. “I’m sure Darien didn’t mean anything that he said. He was probably just annoyed that you didn’t tell him that you ran into Seiya before seeing the tabloid. You know how men are, Sere, they can get jealous rather easily.”

“I know that they can, Mina, but you didn’t see the way that Darien looked at me. I’ve seen him that serious or cold when he’s around me, when he’s at work, yes, but not around me. He actually believed that I cheated on him with Seiya!” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue that Andrew had handed her.

“Don’t worry, Serena,” Andrew tried to reassure her. “Darien doesn’t handle jealously well, and I’m sure that once he cools off he’ll realize how much of an ass he’s been and try to contact you to apologize.”

“I hope you’re right, Andrew,” Serena sniffed and then blew her nose. She really hated crying, and she knew that she couldn’t really blame the tears on her crazy hormones. “But he better do something big to apologize, because after the way he acted? I deserve something more than a simple ‘I’m sorry’ call.”

“You go, Serena,” Mina laughed.

“So, what’s been going on with you two?” Serena asked.

“Well, we’ve been planning the wedding…”     

* * *

Darien looked again at his watch to make sure that it was the correct time. He had said noon, right? He couldn’t help but rack his brain as he tried to remember the phone conversation that he had had the night before. He had said noon, he was sure of it. But now it was 12:15, where was he? Just as he was thinking of getting up and leaving the café, a bustle of activity caught his attention and he looked up. Running at a blur’s speed, was the person in question. Spotting Darien, the young man rushed over and sat down quickly. After taking a few minutes to regain his breath, he looked up and smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry about that, Darien,” he finally said. “The meeting at the label ran late, and once I saw the time, I ran down here as fast I could. I hope you haven’t been waiting too long?”

“No, not at all,” Darien lied. “I’m just glad that you were able to make it at all, Seiya.” He took a sip from his coffee cup and peered at the brunette haired man. Icy blue eyes met his stare, but he just smiled.

“Of course, when I saw the tabloid, I knew you’d be giving me a call,” he said. “But I want to assure you, Darien, that I only showed Serena around the city and helped her pick out an outfit for the night on the town that you had planned for her. Besides, haven’t you noticed, man? Serena loves you too much to cheat on you.” He bit his lip a little as the words left his mouth. He should have played the bad guy here and done everything in his power to convince Darien that Serena had cheated on him. But he was too much of a nice guy to do that…

“You swear to me?” Darien asked. “Because so help me, Seiya, if I find out that you’re lying to me and that you have touched _my wife_ in any way that wasn’t appropriate, I will kill you.”

Oh, and there was that little threat too, Seiya couldn’t help but think. His smile was not strained, “I swear to you Darien. Serena and I are only friends.”

Darien nodded. “Okay, thank you for telling me that. I’m sorry about the threat, but you know how I feel about Serena. If anything happened to her…” he trailed off.

“I know, Darien, but did she really leave?”

“Yeah, all her stuff is gone and so was her suitcase,” he replied. “I tried calling her on her cell, but she has it turned off or she’s ignoring my calls. I want her to answer though, so that way I know that she’s safe and so I can apologize.”

“Don’t worry, man, she’ll come around…she’s just probably in shock that’s all.”

Darien nodded his head, hoping that he was right.    

* * *

Serena didn’t want to be in the room at the moment. Yes, she should have been happy to be hanging out with all her friends again, and they were celebrating Mina’s upcoming nuptials to Andrew by throwing her a wedding shower, but Serena couldn’t find it within her to be happy for the couple. Her mind was too fixated on the problems of her marriage, and she couldn’t help but wince in pain. That was the other reason that she didn’t want to be there. When she had woken up that morning, she hadn’t felt good. Yes, she knew that she was supposed to expect this because of the morning sickness and all, but Serena couldn’t help but think that there was something more. It was probably all the stress of what was going on with Darien, she knew that it wasn’t healthy for her baby.

Mina was in the middle of opening a present from Amy, when they all noticed the pale and sweaty complexion of their blonde friend.

“Serena, are you okay?” Amy asked concerned. They had all been informed of their friend’s pregnancy, and they all became instantly concerned. Was something wrong with the baby?

“I’m fine,” she replied and got up carefully from her seat. “I’m sure that it’s just constipation or something…” she trailed off and walked towards the bathroom. The girls watched her go, not entirely convinced that that was what the problem was. But Raye just shrugged it off.

“If she says nothing is wrong, then it’s probably nothing,” she said. “Besides you know her mind is probably preoccupied with everything that’s going on with Darien.” The three muttered in agreement and Mina continued opening Amy’s gift; a bed sheet set in the orange shade that Mina enjoyed.

After ten minutes though, the girls became concerned. Shouldn’t Serena have come back from the bathroom by now? They all got up and walked towards the facilities. Mina knocked on the door gently.

“Serena? Serena, honey, are you okay?” She asked, but received no answer. The four girls exchanged another anxious gaze before they opened the door and walked in. What they saw shocked them and caused each of them to exclaim,

“Oh my God! Serena!”

* * *

Darien was on the phone with Sapphire when he heard his cell phone go off. Not thinking much of it he continued on with his conversation. But when the phone continued to go off for five straight minutes, he asked if it would be all right if he called Sapphire back later. As soon as he hung up, he picked up his phone and saw the name MINA flash across the screen. Instantly concerned, he answered.

“Mina?”

“Darien! Oh, I’m so glad I was finally able to get a hold of you!”

“Is everything okay?”

“Well…Darien, I think you need to get on the next available flight to Tokyo.”

“What? Why?”

“Darien, it’s Serena…” Mina trailed off.

“Serena? What about Serena?”

“Oh, Darien…she’s in the hospital.”

           


	10. Part Ten: The Apology

For the second time in as many weeks, Serena woke up and didn’t know where she was at first. But then, upon further recollection, she remembered what had happened at Mina’s wedding shower. She had gone to the bathroom, and had instantly been alarmed by the spots of blood in her underwear. The pain that she had been experiencing over the last few days intensified and she remembered falling off the toilet and hitting her head on the hard stall side. After that it was blackness. She opened her eyes and found herself staring up a four pairs of concerned eyes. She tried sitting up, but instantly felt dizzy. She slumped back into the bed and turned to the four girls.

“What happened?” She croaked. Her throat felt like someone had sanded it down with sandpaper. A hand passed her a pink cup with a white bendable straw.

“Drink some water, Serena,” Raye’s voice commanded. Serena gratefully took the cup in her hands and took a few deep sips, as soon as she swallowed the water it instantly soothed her dry throat. She tried sitting up again, and found it easier this time.

“What happened?” She asked again. “Where am I? Is the baby okay?”

The four girls exchanged a look of – well, she didn’t know what, but she knew that the look wasn’t a good one. She instantly felt concerned and a pang of intense worry filled her completely. She was about to demand that they answer her when Mina finally said something.

“You’re in the hospital, Serena. I’m not sure if you remember, but you went into the bathroom, looking rather sick, but when you didn’t come out in ten minutes we came to check on you…” she trailed off.

“You were laid out, unconscious on the floor. There was blood coming from your head and…um…” Amy looked off. “Anyway, we called 911 and they brought you here in an ambulance, but that was two days ago.”

“Two days?” Serena asked, her eyes widened in alarm at the new information. “You mean I’ve been out for two days? What exactly did they do to me?”

“Well, yes, because you sustained a concussion and the doctor’s had to perform surgery…” Amy continued, even though her eyes were seeking out the others. But she wasn’t doing it on accident. She was purposefully, _not_ looking at Serena, almost as if she didn’t want to tell her something. That reminded her that they hadn’t answered one of her questions.

“But the baby is okay, right?” She asked, but the girls didn’t say anything. Instead they were exchanging the same look again. “Would someone please answer me? Is the baby okay?” The girls still didn’t answer her, but the door to her room opened momentarily distracting her from her question.

“Oh, good, you’re up, Mrs. Shields,” the woman said and came closer to the bed. The four girls backed away to let her check the monitor that Serena was hooked up to. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, confused, and worried,” she replied glancing at the woman. “What exactly happened to me, and who are you?”

“My name is Doctor Kingsley and I’ve been taking care of you the last few days. As you know, you were brought in two days ago and were suffering from a deep laceration to your skull, causing you to bleed and experience a concussion. Now, you were also taken in for surgery, which is why you were out for two days. I am happy to say that it was successful and there won’t be any permanent damage.”

“Surgery? Surgery for what exactly?”

“Oh, you didn’t know?” The doctor asked, her face falling. “I would have thought with the blood in your underwear and the intense pain you experienced before blacking out-”

“How did you know about that?” Serena asked confused. She understood how they would have known about the blood in her underwear, since when she collapsed her panties were still down and her friends probably mentioned it to the EMTs. But how did they know about the pain?

“You told us, when you came to, right before the surgery.”

“Um…okay, but why don’t I remember telling you that?”

“Your reaction, probably, to the anesthesia. Sometimes it clouds over people’s minds and makes them forget things that happened before. Don’t worry, though, it is quite normal for someone to experience this. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Serena, I’m sorry to tell you this, but you experienced a miscarriage. You lost the baby.”

* * *

Darien didn’t know what to think. The phone call from Mina had him shocked. What exactly had happened to Serena that would cause her to end up in the hospital? When he tried to get his question answered, Mina only said that she couldn’t tell him. Stating that it was conversation that he needed to have with Serena and which was better to have in person than over the phone. After hanging up with Mina, he felt a small bit of relief since he now knew where Serena had run off to, but she wasn’t safe. Escalated by worry, Darien had immediately left his office without a word to Michelle as to why he was leaving. He didn’t have time to talk to her for his cell phone was already plastered back to his ear as he called the pilot that he always had on standby. He needed to get to Tokyo right away and at the moment he didn’t want to be hampered by the hectic atmosphere of LAX. Making quick arrangements with his pilot, he drove off to his apartment to pack a few things and then he would go to the airfield.

It didn’t take him long to shove a few shirts and a pair of jeans into a small duffel bag and within minutes he was on the plane (traffic for once wasn’t hectic), had already been greeted by the pilot – Jack – and now he was sitting in one of the chairs. But he wasn’t sitting still. Every fiber of his being was thrumming with anxiety, and every thought was centered on Serena. Just like how he felt a week ago when Hotaru was waiting for him at the apartment, he couldn’t help but think; what was the matter with Serena and was she okay?

* * *

Eleven hours and eighteen minutes later, when the plane finally landed, hadn’t calmed Darien down any further. If anything, he was worse. Every inch of Darien’s body was amped up and flighty, almost as if he had been doing drugs. Without a word of thanks to Jack, he exited the plane and fled out to the tarmac where a car was waiting. “Tokyo Central Hospital, Chad, and step on it.” He told the driver as soon as slammed the door behind him. The driver, knowing not to mess with Mr. Shields when he was in this sort of mood, drove off as fast as he could.

* * *

Instant despair coursed through Serena when the doctor had finished her statement. She had lost the baby. She had lost the…it repeated over and over again in her mind. She closed her eyes and tuned out whatever the doctor was telling her now. It wasn’t important. She was so overcome with grief she wanted to disappear. Somehow in the middle of all of this, she heard everyone leave the room. They must have realized how distraught she had become and decided to leave her alone with her thoughts. She opened her eyes and instantly began to shed the tears that she had been fighting back. She sobbed so hard she thought she would lose her voice, but she continued on wishing that one person would be there to comfort her.

Darien.

The man in question ran through the entrance of the hospital and didn’t stop until he saw Mina’s blonde hair. By the time he arrived though, it was already the late evening, around eleven, and visiting hours were over. Not that Darien cared much. He would defy anyone he had to, just as long as he could see his wife.

“Mina!” He exclaimed and stopped in front of a familiar group of girls. They all looked up at him, panic stricken at his arrival and then turned on Min as Darien tried to catch his breath.

“You called him, Mina!” Raye exclaimed in anger.

“Mina, are you crazy? After everything that he put her through? I mean he’s the reason that she’s…” Lita trailed off, too in fueled by rage to continue on with her tirade. She flexed her knuckles openly in front of Darien, which he took as a sign of a threat.

“Quiet,” Mina commanded her voice firm. The girls instantly became silent and Darien couldn’t help but stare at her in admiration. “I know what Darien has done. And yes, it is mostly his fault, but you girls forget. Darien is Serena’s _husband_ , he has a right to know that his _wife_ is in the hospital and the right to visit her.” She turned to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied completely mystified. What exactly was his fault? “Where is she? Is she okay?” He asked instead.

“She’s in there,” Mina said pointing to the door on his right. “And as to if she’s all right, well, you better go and see for yourself.”

Darien nodded and carefully and quietly walked into the room. Except for the dim lamp by the bedside table, the room was completely dark. Darien couldn’t help but notice as he closed the door behind him. He walked forward and noticed a bunched up figure in the bed. Serena’s hair was hanging like golden curtain in front of her face, blocking most of it from his view. But from what Darien did see, her eyes were brimmed red and he knew that she had been crying. She was curled into the fetal position and her hands were encircling herself, almost as if she was trying to hold herself together. With a great gentleness, he sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder, but it was still enough to wake her up. Her eyes fluttered open, and she searched the room for what had disturbed her rather light slumber. When they landed on Darien, her eyes instantly watered.

“Darien?” She asked, not really sure if he was really there or not.

“Hi, Serena,” he whispered. “How are you?”

“Oh, Darien,” the tears she was holding back began to fall and she flung herself into his arms. He tightened his arms around her and let her cry. He felt the tears dampen his shirt. He didn’t understand why she was crying, but he didn’t care. He knew that she just needed someone to hold her and comfort her.

She needed him.    

* * *

When Serena woke up, after crying herself to sleep in Darien’s arms, the following afternoon, she was greeted with a very colorful sight. Filling her room were vases upon vases of red, white, yellow, and pink roses. There were also about twenty get-well-soon balloons in every color. Sitting up surprised by all of this, she was instantly distracted when someone cleared their throat by the door. She instantly gasped as she saw Darien standing there, holding another bouquet of red roses and rather large and fluffy pink stuffed bunny.

“Good afternoon,” he said walking forward.

“Hi,” she breathed, shocked that it hadn’t been a dream. “I’m so sorry about crying all over you last night. I was just so-”

“Shush, Sere,” he cut her off, putting a finger to her lips. “It doesn’t bother me that you cried all over me. I was just glad to see that you were okay, and that you still aren’t angry with me over what happened in Los Angeles.”

“Who said I wasn’t?” Serena countered grimacing, as their fight from the last time that they saw each other played again in her mind. “It’s just that a lot more pressing matters have happened since then. But while we’re on the subject, do you believe me now? Do you still think that I cheated on you?”

“No, I don’t believe that you cheated on me,” he replied. “And if you had stuck around, instead of jumping on a plane, you would have known that I believed you and I was just being a downright ass about it.”

“So, the balloons and the flowers?”

“From me in apology and of course get well soon wishes,” he smiled handing her the bunny. “Speaking of, why are you in the hospital?”

Serena sighed and squeezed the bunny that he had just handed her. She knew that she would have to tell him eventually, but she didn’t know how without breaking into a waterfall of tears again. It still hurt to know that she wouldn’t be giving birth to their baby in six months.

“I’m in the hospital because I…” she sighed biting back tears. “I had a miscarriage.” Silence fell between the two as Darien sat there staring at Serena. She was in the hospital because she had a miscarriage. But that meant that she was pregnant. Why hadn’t she told him?

“Darien?” She broke into his train of thought. “Darien, please, say something. Talk to me.” Her voice was pleading, almost broken.

“You had a miscarriage?” He whispered staring at her. “Oh, Serena…” he took her into his arms. “I’m so sorry, but how come you never told me that you were pregnant to begin with?”

“I never got the chance,” she replied her mouth muffled by his shirt. “I found out the day before our night out, but you never came home that night. So, I was going to tell you on our night out, but then you told me about Hotaru being your half-sister. The timing was always wrong.”

“Oh, Serena, I’m so sorry,” he said again, knowing that it was his fault that he caused her so much pain. He made a vow right then that he wouldn’t do this to her again. He would spend more time with her, and with the loss of the baby she would need his support now more than ever…


	11. Part Eleven: Celebrations

The first month was the hardest, and Darien knew that it was mostly his fault that it was so hard on Serena, but there were some things that he couldn’t control. He had agreed that they had to stay in Tokyo while Serena recovered from the shock of losing her first baby, but there were some meetings that Darien couldn’t avoid with Sapphire Dawson. He had to leave her and go back to Los Angeles every few weeks to make sure things were going without a hitch. The girls watched over her then, even though there wasn’t much to watch over. All Serena seemed to do that first month was cry and sleep. It took a lot of force for them to make her eat something every once and awhile.

The second and third months were better. She had accepted the fact that she was no longer pregnant and didn’t cry as much. She seemed to be returning to her old self, which pleased Darien greatly. But he still walked and talked around her carefully. He didn’t know if something would set her off and cause her to start crying like Niagara Falls again. But she was smiling, even though it didn’t quite go to her eyes like it used to. That’s how Darien knew that things weren’t okay, just yet.

It was the fourth and fifth months that scared him the most. Before the slightest thing would cause Serena to begin to cry, now during the fourth month, it would cause her to go into fits of rage. She was angry. She blamed everyone and everything for the loss of her baby. But mostly she blamed Darien, since it was his fault that she had lost the baby. They got into fights daily, and it soon got to the point where Darien would gladly leave for Los Angeles to make sure things were staying the same with the contract negotiations. If he had had his way, during that month he would have permanently stayed there, but he knew he had to help and support her, even if she wasn’t willing to it at the moment. The fifth month was less stressful than the fourth, but all the same frightening for Darien. Serena would wait up for him at night to come back to bed, and then she would attack him. It went on like this for days, not that Darien minded so much until one day when he found out that Serena had thrown out the remaining birth control pills she had. This caused Darien to worry. Was she trying so soon to have another baby? After he found this out, he stopped going to their bedroom and opted to sleep in his study.

But Darien didn’t have any need to worry, for by the sixth month, Serena was finally back to normal. He noticed one day when they sat down for dinner, for the first time in weeks. The smile she smiled was reaching her eyes, she was actually happy, and when he kissed her she let it go and didn’t turn it into anything more than the innocent kiss that it was supposed to be. Things were how they had originally been before they moved out to Los Angeles.

One particular morning in July found Darien waking up to the most wonderful of smells. Wondering what the smell could possibly be, Darien padded out into the main room of his old apartment, and was surprised to see Serena sitting at the dining room table. There was a plate with the most amazing omelet, and Darien’s standard cup of black coffee.

At the sound of his approach, Serena looked up from what she was reading, and smiled at him. “Good morning,” she chirped and took a sip out of her mug. He ran a hand through his thoroughly bed messed hair, and glanced at his wife with amusement in his eyes. Serena had the reputation of not liking early mornings, and to see her up and chipper at seven-thirty made him wonder what was going on.

“You do realize you can sit down?” She asked playfully. “I haven’t poisoned your omelet, and if you don’t eat it soon it’ll get cold.” She didn’t say anymore and went back to what she was reading, a smile playing on the edges of her mouth. Something was obviously amusing in her reading.

Taking another whiff of the omelet, he couldn’t help but take his seat and begin to eat. After a few bites, he looked up again at his wife.

“So what possessed you to make me breakfast this morning?” He asked her.

“I was just in the mood to cook something,” she replied shrugging, not looking up from her reading. “Did you like it though?”

“Yeah, it’s really good,” he replied and then took a sip of his coffee. “May I ask what you’re reading so diligently?”

“Just the tabloid that was delivered with the paper this morning.”

“And why are you reading that trash?”

“Because somebody leaked that we’re married, and they’re also making these crazy speculations about why you keep flying to and from Los Angeles without me when I was with you not too long ago.”

“Ah,” Darien replied a smile now forming on his lips. “Anything good?”

“Not really,” she shook her head. “Although the one where they think I’m actually not your wife and that you’re paying me to be your wife so your business transaction will go through, is quite comical.” She finally looked up from the tabloid and locked gazes with him. What he saw there made him smile. There was a true happiness glint in her eyes now, that hadn’t been there six months ago. With that Darien was out of his chair and striding towards her. Stopping by her chair, he leant down and kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you, Serena,” he whispered.

“I love you, Darien,” she replied a little taken aback by his actions. “What brought that on though?”

“Do I really need a reason?” He asked, smirking. “I better get ready for work. Are you going to be okay by yourself today?”

“I won’t be by myself, remember? Mina needs my help with some of the final wedding preparations. I can’t believe that they’re going to be getting married soon!” Serena exclaimed, even though she knew that she was only telling Darien part of what her plans were for the day. But she didn’t want to bother him with that just yet. It wouldn’t do to tell him, only to get his hopes up when it turned out to be nothing.

“I know, it feels like it was just yesterday that we got married,” he sighed and checked the clock. It was getting later, he really needed to get ready and go off to work. “I better get going or else I’m going to be late.”

“Yes, and that would be bad if the boss walked in late,” she smiled and got up to clear away the plates. Darien smiled and walked out of the room, knowing that things between them were back to normal.

* * *

Serena was bursting to tell someone when she popped into the arcade later on that afternoon. The familiar smile was, she felt, permanently stuck to her face. As the door chimed letting Andrew, and Mina, know that a new customer had walked in, the arcade owner peered from the back room and saw the blonde walk in.

“Hey Serena!” He called out and was shocked to see that there was a smile on her face. “What’s going on? What’s with that smile on your face?”

“Hey Andrew,” she replied still chipper. “Where’s Mina? I want to tell the both of you at the same time. I have really, really good news!”

“I’m here,” Mina said rushing from the back room as well. Serena raised an eyebrow, curiosity burning in her mind as to what Mina was doing in the back room, but she refrained. “So what’s the good news?”

“Well, remember how I’ve been having those monthly check ups with Doctor Kingsley? When I went last week for my appointment, I brought up some concerns that I was having and so she ran some tests…” She trailed off.

“Some tests?” Andrew asked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am, Andrew. Remember, I said that this was good news? Anyway, she called me last night and asked if I could come in this morning so she could talk to me about the results. So, I went in and well, those concerns I was having? They weren’t really concerns, but me recognizing the signs of pregnancy. I’m pregnant again!”

Mina squealed, “Oh. My. God! I can’t believe that you’re pregnant again! How do you feel? Are you okay? How are you dealing with all of this? Don’t you think that it might be a little too soon since….” She trailed off looking at Serena with a worried expression on her face. Andrew mirrored her.

“Okay, slow down, Mina, one question at a time. First, I did think it might be a little soon since, well, what happened six months ago, but then I realized that it’s been six months. I need to move on and well, now I have the opportunity to bring a new life into this world. Second, I’m really excited and I’m going to try and do things right this time around. And lastly, I’m okay. Truly.” She smiled at the couple in front of her.

“Oh, I am so happy for you, Serena!” Mina exclaimed hugging her best friend. “But one more question. How are you going to tell Darien?”

* * *

Darien walked into the apartment that evening feeling like the weight of the world was off of his shoulders. Finally, after almost a year of constant negotiations and late nights, the contract had been signed. Sapphire Dawson and his company were now a part of Shields Inc. He felt like celebrating, and was very tempted to take Serena out on a night on the town again. However, when he looked up, all thoughts of taking Serena out went out of his head. She was sitting on the couch, watching him with an interesting expression on her face. It was a mix between happiness and wonder.

“Are you okay, Serena?” He asked striding forward to her side, instantly concerned. Why, he had no idea, considering that the look on her face was happiness, not sadness.

“I’m fine, Darien,” she replied. “More than fine, really, but I wasn’t expecting you to be home so soon. Is everything all right with you?” A trickle of concern laced her voice.

“Yes, everything is fine. Sapphire Dawson signed the contract today, if anything I’m in the mood to celebrate.” He took Serena’s hands in his and lifted her so she was standing in front of him.

“Oh, that’s fantastic, Darien!” She exclaimed hugging him. “But I have news of my own too…”

“What’s your news?”

“Well, I went to go see Dr. Kingsley today and she had some tests run the last time I went to go see her. We discussed the results today, and I’m…” she smiled. “I’m pregnant.”

“ _What?_ ” Darien stared at her in complete shock. She was pregnant? But it had been so soon since she miscarried. Was she really up to this this time around? “You’re pregnant? H-how are you handling this?” He couldn’t help but stutter out, but he wasn’t expecting Serena’s reaction to his question.

She laughed, “You and Mina are on the same wavelength. She asked me that too this afternoon when I told Andrew and her at the arcade. But like I told her. I’m okay, and I’m really excited. Aren’t you?”

“Of course, I am. I was just worried about how you were dealing with this. I know it’s only been six months, but are you really sure that you can handle this, Serena? It’s not going to be too painful?”

“Darien, you worry too much,” she replied with a smile on her face. “Please, just be excited about this, okay? It’s been a crazy and outrageous year already, I think it’s time that something in our lives finally went right, that we’re finally happy. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, yes I do. God, I’m going to be a father!” He exclaimed and then bent down to capture her lips with his.

* * *

Darien stood surrounded by people, not that he knew who any of the people standing next to him were. They were all wearing masks of different colors and fabrics. His mask wasn’t so outrageous as the other’s that he had spotted so far already this evening. His was a simple white mask that only covered his eyes, and actually looked like he was wearing a pair of sunglasses instead of a masquerade mask. He glanced around the room again, surprised that he couldn’t spot his wife anywhere in the room. She was supposed to be here by now, and he instantly felt worried.

“Darien, my friend,” a man with a blue mask with sapphires walked up to him and clamped him on the shoulder. “I hear congratulations are in order for you again.”

“Sapphire, is that you under that mask?”

“Yes, it is!” He exclaimed and fell into a bout of laughter. “You’re really good at identifying people, aren’t you? Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes. I heard the news! Your lovely wife, Serena, is with child again.” Darien felt a smile spread over his lips. Sapphire knew of what had happened to Serena six months ago, because Darien had not returned his call when Mina had told him that she was in the hospital. Looking for an explanation, he had told Sapphire the truth, that Serena had miscarried and needed his support. Sapphire was real supportive, and technically was the reason that Darien didn’t have to go back to Los Angeles that often during the rest of the contract negotiations.

He was also the reason that they were now holding the celebratory party of the two companies becoming one back in Tokyo. It had taken some convincing on Darien’s part, but once Sapphire was aware of the situation, he was more than happy to accommodate.

“Thank you, Sapphire,” he replied. “Serena and I are really excited to become parents. Thank you also for switching the part location to Tokyo.”

“Not a problem, none whatsoever. Once I heard that this party was the same day as your best friend’s wedding, I couldn’t let you choose between the two. I hope that the party started late enough for you?”

“Yes, I was able to do my best man duties before I had to duck out,” he replied frowning as he searched the crowd again for his wife. She was supposed to leave right after he did, but he still didn’t see any sign of her. “I’m just wondering where my wife is, at the moment. You two still have to meet.”

“Ah, yes, yes we do. No sign of her though? Didn’t she come with you?”

“No, she didn’t because she still had some matron of honor duties to attend to, but she wasn’t supposed to be too far behind me.” His eyes still raked over the crowd, but he knew already that she wasn’t there. Where could that girl possibly be?

“Is that her, up there?” Sapphire asked and pointed to the staircase. Darien turned his gaze and felt his mouth open in surprise. Sure enough, coming down the stairs at that exact moment was Serena. Only she had changed. Instead of wearing the pink spaghetti strapped matron of honor dress that she had been wearing a few hours ago, she was now wearing an ice blue full-length gown. Her hair was still pulled back into a high ponytail with wisps of her golden hair around her face and curled into slight ringlets. On her face was a silk mask the same color of her dress and studded with rhinestones. The crowd, which seemed to have noticed her arrival, parted as soon as she reached the last step. She spotted Darien and began to gracefully walk over to him and Sapphire.

“Hello,” she whispered when she got to them. “I hope I haven’t been keeping you waiting too long?”

“Not at all,” he replied, taking her hand in his. “Serena, I want you to meet Sapphire Dawson. Sapphire this is my wife, Serena.”

Sapphire took Serena’s hand within his and kissed her knuckles. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Serena, and congratulations on your pregnancy.”

“Thank you, Sapphire. It’s nice to meet you too.” A slight blush had appeared on her cheeks. This guy reminded her too much of Darien. “Shall we dance then?” She asked her husband.

“Of course. You’ll excuse us, Sapphire?”

“Yes, go on and have fun you two. We’ll have plenty time to speak later.” He ushered the two off to the dance floor. Darien, with as much suave as he possessed, led his love out to the dance floor. Once there, he put his hand on her waist and the other in her hand. They then began to twirl around the floor.

“I see you changed on your way over?” He whispered into her ear.

“Of course I did, you don’t think I would show up to a masquerade in my matron of honor dress, do you? It wasn’t appropriate.”

“Just admit it,” he chuckled. “You just wanted an excuse to buy another outfit. How much did this one cost me?” He joked with her. Serena glowered at him for a moment and then her face was lit up by a magnificent smile.

“You’re horrible,” she whispered. “But I still love you.”

“As I love you,” he replied kissing her forehead. The two of them had been through a lot in their first year of marriage, but they were still together. Not to mention that they were also expecting a baby, which would bring about a new set of challenges for them to face. But Darien knew that after the year they just experienced, they would be able to handle anything.

Together.


End file.
